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JESUS TBE BREAD OF LIFE 











Outline ON Prophecy 


ISRAEL IN THE PAST AND IN THE FUTURE. 
THE KINGDOM OF ANTICHRIST. THE 
COMING OF THE LORD. THE MIL¬ 
LENNIUM. THE NEW HEAV¬ 
EN AND NEW EARTH. 







REV. J. A. SPRUNGER. 
u 


LIGHT AND HOPE! PUBLISHING COMPANY. 
101 UNIVERSITY STREET, 
CLEVELAND. O. 












THE LIBRARY OF 
CCNORESS, 

Two Copies Received 

MAR 25 1903 

Copyright Entry 
CLASS XXc. No. 
COPY b. 



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COPYRIGHT, 1 903 . 
BY LIGHT AND HOPE 
PUB. COMPANY. 


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CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER I. 

Progressive Revelation. 1 

CHAPTER 11. 

Fulfilled Prophecies Concerning the 

Jews. 26 

CHAPTER III. 

Fulfilled Prophecies Concerning the 

Jews. (Continued.). 38 

CHAPTER IV. 

Fulfilled Prophecies Concerning the 

Jews. (Continued.). 54 

CHAPTER V. 

Fulfilled Prophecies Concerning the 

Destruction of Jerusalem. 62 


CHAPTER VI. 

Fulfilled Prophecies Concerning the 


Destruction of Jerusalem. (Con¬ 
tinued. ). 71 

CHAPTER VII. 

The Future of Israel and their Res¬ 
toration as a Nation . - 87 










Contents. 


CHAPTER VIII. 

The Development of the Kingdom of 

Antichrist. 99 

CHAPTER IX. 

Antichrist, his Reign and Character. Ill 

CHAPTER X. 

The Harlot or the Beast with two 

Horns. 122 

CHAPTER XI. 

The Fall of Antichrist and his Doom. 132 

CHAPTER XII. 

The Doctrine of the Second Coming 

OF Christ in the New Testament. 142 

CHAPTER XIII. 

Signs Preceding the Second Coming 

OF THE Lord . 150 

CHAPTER XIV. 

The Hope of the Apostolic Church 

FOR the Second Coming of Christ. 171 

CHAPTER XV. 

Preparation of the Bride for the 


Bridegroom . 182 

CHAPTER XVI. 

The Rapture of the Saints . 194 


CHAPTER XVII. 

The Different Ranks of the Blessed. 205 







Contents, 


CHAPTER XVIII. 

Daniel’s Prophetic Chronology. 215 

CHAPTER XIX. 

The Great Harvest for the Lord .... 225 

CHAPTER XX. 

The Millennium. 242 

CHAPTER XXI. 

The Judgment of the Nations and the 

Final Judgment. 255 

CHAPTER XXII. 

The New Heaven and the New Earth. 264 
Explanation of the Chart. 277 






PREFACE. 


In my missionary travels, a number of my 
friends expressed a desire that I should write a 
treatise on prophecy. For want of time I was 
compelled to postpone it for a number of years. 
Even now, while engaged in writing this book, 
my time is too much occupied with other neces¬ 
sary duties to do the subject full justice. It is 
not the intention to treat the subject in detail, 
but simply give an outline to be a help to those 
who study the Bible in its prophetic revelation. 
On account of the limit of time to do the subject 
justice, a few chapters of other authors are 
taken up in the book. This book is printed in the 
Industrial Department of the Orphans’ Home 
Light and Hope. All money received for this 
book, above the printing and selling expenses, 
will be used for the benefit of the orphan chil¬ 
dren. This same book was printed in the Ger¬ 
man language two years ago and has found a 



Preface, 

ready sale. Some publishers sold hundreds 
of them the first year. Our prayer is that this 
book may be a blessing to many souls, and 
through its speedy sale may be a help to sup¬ 
port orphan children. 

Cleveland, Ohio, 1903. 



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INTRODUCTORY. 

Progressive Revelation 

god’s revelation of himself to man has 

BEEN A PROGRESSIVE ONE.—TRUTH IN GEN¬ 
ERAL HAS BEEN REVEALED PROGRESSIVELY. 
—PROPHECY, THE DIVINE HISTORY OF THE 
FUTURE, CONSISTS OF A SERIES OF PROGRES¬ 
SIVE REVELATIONS.—PRACTICAL RESULTS OF 
THE COMPREHENSION AND APPLICATION OF 
THIS PRINCIPLE. 

God has been pleased to make three great 
revelations of Himself to man: His work; His 
Word; and His Son, and these revelations have 
been progressive in character. Nature, the 
Law, the Gospel; a silent mateiial universe, an 
inspired Book, a living God-man; these are the 
three great steps that have led from the death 
and darkness of sin to that knowledge of the 
true God which is eternal life. 

A fourth revelation of God, fuller and more 
perfect than any, is yet to come. The only be¬ 
gotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, 
who is the brightness of His glory and the ex- 


2 Outline on Frophecy. 

press image of His person, who “declared Him” 
when He came the first time in grace and humil¬ 
iation, will declare Him yet more fully when He 
comes a second time in righteousness and in 
glory. Then the earth will be filled with the 
knowledge of the Lord, as the w^aters cover the 
sea. 

Each of these revelations is in itself progres¬ 
sive. The earth and all that is therein, attained 
perfection by six distinct stages, during the six 
days of creation. The angels followed with 
adoring wonder the fresh unfoldings of divine 
wisdom, goodness, and power, presented in the 
gradual formation of this great globe, and in its 
myriad mysteries of vegetable and animal life, 
though to human eyes nature was presented per¬ 
fect and complete. But human eyes could see 
at first the surface of things alone; every ad¬ 
vance in true science, enabling men to penetrate 
more deeply into the hidden wisdom of the work 
of God, has been a progressive revelation. And 
we have only begun, even now, to ucderstand 
the glory of God, manifested in the universe. 
To us, more than to our ancestors, the heavens 
declare the glory of God, and the earth showeth 
his handiwork; and to our children they will do 
so even more. 

The Word of God is also a progressive revel¬ 
ation, and so has been the Providence recorded 
ni that Word. 


Progressive Revelation. S 

The Bible is composed of sixty-three separate 
books, written by forty various authors, during 
a period of 1600 years. The sacred writings de¬ 
velop a revelation which was continually unfold¬ 
ing itself through all those years; and close with 
a book bearing the divinely given title of ‘ ‘The 
Revelation of Jesus Christ.’* 

The third revelation of God, that afforded by 
the person and work of our blessed Lord Jesus 
Christ, was also progressive. The mere fact of 
his birth and existence in the midst of a world 
of sinners, was in itself an evidence cf God’s 
love to a guilty race. Each word He spoke, 
each act He performed, each day He lived, un¬ 
folded more and more of God. They who saw 
Him saw the Father, for He was his express im¬ 
age; and not until He, the Maker and Judge of 
all, was exposed on the cursed tree, not till from 
his riven side flowed the water and the blood,^ 
not till He bowed his head and gave up the-, 
ghost, never till then, was the heart of God fulr- 
ly unveiled; “hereby perceive we the love ofc 
God.” 

And it will be the same in the future; for since- 
finite man is destined through boundless mercy 
to an eternal advance in the knowledge of the 
infinite God, that knowledge must needs be 
vouchsafed in progressive revelations, adapted 
to man’s ability to receive them. And herein 
will lie one of the joys of heaven, to be learning^ 


^ Outline on Prophecy. 

more of Him, who is the truth, and from Him, 
of all thing's. 

No student of Scripture can fail to be struck 
with the progressive character of its teachings. 
On no one subject was full information given at 
the beginning; all was revealed in germ only, 
and in the lapse of ages unfolded by degrees. 
Take, for instance, the doctrine of the Trinity: 
in the beginning God taught the unity of his na¬ 
ture, and the other truth that in the one God 
there are three persons, was only intimated; 
suggested by certain forms of expression, as 
the use of a plural noun with a singular verb, 
which occurs several hundred times, as in Gen. 
1: 1; Ps. 58: 11. There were besides expres¬ 
sions, the accurate harmony of which with this 
truth, we who understand it can appreciate, but 
which were not revelations to those who were 
ignorant of it. Such for example is the divine 
ly prescribed threefold form of benediction in 
Numbers; and such the seraphs threefold as¬ 
cription of praise in Isaiah, followed by the 
Lord Jehovah’s question, “Who will go for us?” 
The later prophets assume the doctrine as true 
(Is. 48: 16; 9: 6); but the New Testament alone 
reveals it fully. 

Or take again the law of love; man’s first duty 
towards his brother man. To the antediluvian 
world no law on the subject was given. To 
Noah, murder, the worst expression of hatred, 


5 


Progressive Bevelation. 

was forbidden; through Moses the doing of anjr 
ill to the neighbor was prohibited, either in his 
person, his property, his reputation or his do¬ 
mestic interests. By the Lord Jesus the feeling 
of any enmity was forbidden; and not only so 
but positive love, even to the laying down of 
life itself for the brother, commanded. What 
an advance is the conception of love embodied 
in 1 Corinthians 13, on that derived from Sinai,, 
or even from the sermon on the mount. 

Our present object is to trace this progress in 
connection with the prophecies of Scripture,, 
and more especially with those of the New Tes¬ 
tament. 

I. The prophetic teachings of Scripture con¬ 
sist of a series of progressive revelations. 

Its earliest predictions of any future event,, 
have the character of outlines, later ones fill in 
the sketch, and the final ones present the fin¬ 
ished picture. It is the first bud, next the half 
opened blossom, and lastly the flower in full 
bloom. 

There was progress in the amount of truth 
revealed, as well as in the fullness of revelation 
on each point. The little streamlet of prophecy 
which sprang up in Eden and trickled down 
through the antediluvian ages, swelled by con¬ 
tinual accessions, till it rushed a flowing Jordan 
through Israel’s tribes, grew into a mighty Eu¬ 
phrates during the Babylonish captivity, and 


6 Outline on Frophecy. 

opened out into a vast delta around Patmos, 
whence its waters glide calmly into the ocean of 
eternity. 

Adam heard one brief enigmatical prediction 
from the voice of God Himself. Noah sketched, 
in three inspired sentences, the great features 
of human history. In the curse on Canaan was 
contained in embryo the iniquity of the seven 
nations and their conquest by Joshua; the prior¬ 
ity of blessing granted to Shem, similarly con¬ 
tained the subsequent choice of his descendant 
Abraham to be the heir of the world and father 
of the faithful. In the promise of enlargement 
given to Japheth, was contained the spiritual 
enlargement which tooK place when the Gen¬ 
tiles were received into the new covenant, and 
the physical enlargement accomplished in com¬ 
paratively recent days by the European coloni¬ 
zation of America, and conquest of India, both 
“tents of Shem.” This prophecy spanned the 
stream of time with a few gigantic arches; car¬ 
rying us over from the vineyard of Noah to the 
Anglo-Saxon empires of our own day. 

The patriarchs learned from God many addi¬ 
tional particulars as to the future: to Abraham 
was revealed the history of the descendants of 
his two sons, Ishmael and Isaac; the four hun¬ 
dred years’ affliction of his posterity; the bless¬ 
ing of all nations through his seed, etc, Abra¬ 
ham, Jacob, and Moses, all saw Christ’s day and 


Frogressive Revelation. 


7 


were glad; Isaiah and Jeremiah revealed not 
only the proximate judgments and deliverances 
of Israel, but also incarnation and atonement. 
The visions of Daniel present not only a com¬ 
prehensive but an orderly and consecutive pro¬ 
phetic narrative, of leading events, from his 
own day to the end of all things, a miniature un¬ 
iversal history. The fall of Belshazzar; the rise 
of Cyrus, his conquests, the greatness of his em¬ 
pire; his successors, Cambyses, Smerdis, and 
Dairus; the character, power, and conduct of 
Xerxes; the marvellous exploits of Alexander 
the Great, his sudden death, and the division of 
his empire; the reigns of the Ptolemies and Sel- 
eucidse; the character and conquests of the Ro¬ 
man empire; the destruction of Jerusalem by 
Titus; the decay and division of the Roman em¬ 
pire; the rise of the Papacy and its career; its 
cruel persecutions of God’s saints: all this and 
much more is foretold by the man greatly be¬ 
loved. 

The “burdens” of the later prophets concern 
Syria, Egypt, Edom, Tyre, Sidon, Moab, Phil- 
istia, Kedar, Elam, Babylon, Gog and Magog, 
besides Judah and Ephraim. Enoch’s prophecy 
is comprised in one verse, and touches only one 
theme. Isaiah’s has sixty-six chapters, and 
touches on an immense variety of topics. Prom 
our Lord and his apostles flowed additional rev¬ 
elations, which opened up subjects previously 




Outline on Prophecy. 


veiled in mystery, and cast a flood of light on 
every important feature of the present and of 
the future. Thus the volume of prophecy grew 
in bulk and in scope, with the ever increasing 
number of individuals and of nations, and with 
the consequent complexity and importance of 
the events to be announced by inspiration. 

Further, the prophecies of any one event have 
also a distinctly progressive character; they in¬ 
crease both in fullness and in clearness as the 
period of fulfillment approaches. A guide, con¬ 
ducting a traveller to Chamounix, before start¬ 
ing from Geneva, points out the glittering white 
mountain on the horizon as the goal of the day’s 
journey, and adds a few general indications of 
the route. When the city and its suburbs are 
left behind the guide ceases perhaps to speak 
much of Mont Blanc, tells rather the height of 
the Saleve round which the road winds; from 
some eminence he points out the town and vil¬ 
lages which dot the widespread plain beyond, 
and which must presently be passed; traces the 
windings of the Arve, speaks of Bonneville and 
Sallenches as marking stages of the journey, 
but allows the magnificent terminus of their 
wanderings to occupy for a time a comparative¬ 
ly secondary place, minor but nearer objects 
taking up his attention. At a later period of 
the day, when the glorious vision of the ever 
nearing mountain breaks afresh upon the trav- 


Progressive Revelation. 9 

eller at Sallenches. the guide pours forth clear 
and copious descriptions of its various parts; 
other things are forgotten now, they press on; 
again the nearer hills shut out the mountain 
summit, but the guide tells how each turn of 
the last picturesque and winding valley will re¬ 
veal some new view of it. When it reappears 
the traveller is startled by the nearer magnifi¬ 
cence of the monarch of the Alps, it rivets his 
eye, it absorbs hi^ attention; the guide enters 
into minute particulars, describes the different 
“aiguilles” and summits of the mountain, so 
that as he approaches them one by one, the 
traveller recognizes them. And now Cha- 
mounix and the glaciers come in sight, and the 
traveller finds as might have been expected, 
that what appeared, when fifty miles off, a sim¬ 
ple outline of uniform white, breaks up into a 
series of jagged peaks, with awful shadows and 
frozen seas lying in deep valleys between; that 
the one mountain is in reaMty half a dozen, and 
that yrhat appeared at a distance merely a feat¬ 
ure of the wide horizon, has developed into a 
vast and intricate region, in which he may wan¬ 
der for weeks without exploring it all. Yet, as 
he gazes up at the ’great summit, he realizes, 
that it is the very same mountain he first be¬ 
held from Geneva. 

Thus, from the fall onwards, the triumphs of 
the cross have been the great theme of prophe- 


10 Outline on Frophecy. 

cy. Even in Eden the main character and 
grand result of human history were foretold. 
Enmity was to subsist between Satan and men, 
with all its fruits of conflict and suffering; ulti¬ 
mately, the serpent’s head was to be bruised, 
the author of evil destroyed, but the victory 
was to be dearly bought, for the woman’s seed 
by whom it should be gained, should have his 
heel bruised in the battle. Here is the Bible in 
Embyro, the sum of all history and prophecy in 
a germ. But what a mysterious enigma it was, 
what a slight shadowy outline, what a vague 
though blessed prospect! Still it was a light 
shining in a dark place; its beams were feeble, 
but to the eye of faith it was the one glimmer 
that irradiated the intense gloom cf the future. 
But what desires it must have left unsatisfied, 
what questions unanswered! How long was 
this sore conflict to last? By what means were 
the vanquished to become the victors? Little 
could Adam and Eve know on these points; the 
one bright hope, like a glittering mountain top, 
defined their horizon; its form was rendered in¬ 
distinct by the mists of ignorance; but it riveted 
their gaze, for the rest of that horizon was 
blank, and nought but travail and sorrow and 
labor in an accursed earth, lay between them 
and this hope. 

To the view^ of Enoch, the seventh from Ad¬ 
am, this single future became dual. This first 


11 


Trogressive Bevelofion. 

prophet, announced not only blessing, but judg¬ 
ment to come. He saw mankind divided into 
two classes, the saints and the ungodly (Jude 
14); and he foretold a coming of the Lord with 
the former to execute judgment on the latter. 
Here was an advance: the previously revealed 
conflict reappears, and the previously revealed 
victory; but there shine out the additional truths 
that the conflict would not be between man and 
Satan alone, but between men and God, and 
that its termination would be effected only, 
by a coming of the Lord Himself to earth. In 
the sanctifying power of this truth Enoch 
walked in holy separation from the ungodly, 
and in holy fellowship with God, for three hun¬ 
dred years, and “before his translation he had 
this testimony that he pleased God. ’ ’ 

To the patriarchs it was revealed that in their 
line should arise the promised seed of the wom¬ 
an, in whom all the families of the earth should 
be blessed. Jacobis dying prophecy designated 
the very tribe in which He should appear, and 
threw some light on his character and work. 
To Moses it was made known that the promised 
Deliverer should be a prophet, and David fore¬ 
told that He should be king and the manner of his 
kingdom (Psalm 72). The promise of his com¬ 
ing grew continually brighter and clearer; but 
as yet it appeared only one, a glorious event of 
a royal and triumphant Deliverer. What the 


12 Outline on Prophecy. 

bruising of the heel should be, was still hidden 
in obscurity: the double nature of Christ, his 
true character and work, his rejection, suffering 
and death, had not yet been predicted; they had 
been shadowed forth, it is true, in typical ac¬ 
tions and ordinances; but these were not under¬ 
stood even by the actors in them. 

In a wondrous historic prefiguration Abraham 
and Isaac, all unconsciously to themselves, had 
symbolized the great truth that the Father 
would give the Son to be the sacrifice; not know¬ 
ing what he said, Isaac uttered the great ques¬ 
tion of all ages: “Behold the fire and the wood; 
but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” 
and Abraham gave the prophetic reply: “My 
son, God will provide Himself a Lamb.” But 
types like this, and like that of Joseph’s rejec¬ 
tion by his brethren, and exaltation to Egypt’s 
throne, were not revelations to the then exist¬ 
ing generations of men, although we in the light 
of the antitype can see taem to have had a hid¬ 
den meaning. Nor was the paschal lamb in 
Egypt, nor the complex system of sacrifices in¬ 
augurated by Moses, any revelation of the vic¬ 
tim character of Christ. David in the Psalms 
wrote of his sufferings as well as his glories, but 
so little were these passages understood, that 
our Lord and his apostles had to expound them 
even in their day. 

But when David had fallen asleep, and Solo-^ 


13 


Progressive Revelation. 

men’s typical reign was over, when declension 
and decay set in, and Israel’s kingdom was on 
the wane, when a dark night of captivity and 
dispersion was approaching, then revelations 
multiplied. The star that had so long shone in 
the prophetic heaven, and been regarded as one 
round orb, was seen to be a binary star. The 
objects and results of the first coming of Christ 
were announced, in such a way as to distinguish 
it from his second coming, yet not so clearly 
but that difficulties still left room for misconcep¬ 
tion. Many particulars and details were also 
added; He was to spring out of the stem of Jes¬ 
se, to be a virgin’s son, and to bear the name 
Emmanuel; his name moreover was to be called 
The Mighty God; the Everlasting Father, the 
Prince of Peace; and there was to be no end of 
the increase of his government. The character 
of his kingdom was more fully described, and 
the fact revealed, that Gentiles as well as Jews, 
should share in its blessings. And strange new 
strains began to mingle in the music of the 
prophetic harp as Isaiah touched its strings, 
mournful tones which told of suffering and re¬ 
jection, of oppression and bruises and wounds, 
to be inflicted on the coming One. He was to 
be a holy sinbearer, a silent sufferer, a slaught¬ 
ered lamb; He was to pour out his soul unto 
death; He was to have a grave; He was to be a 
substitute, a sin offering, an intercessor; and 


IJf Outline on Prophecy. 

only through experiences such as these to be 
“satisfied” and exalted, “and divide the spoil 
with the great. ” And Daniel, in full harmony, 
announced that Messiah should be cut off but 
not for Himself, and that his coming instead of 
bringing rest and glory to Israel, would be fol¬ 
lowed by trouble, war, and desolation. By de¬ 
grees it thus became evident, that a long stretch 
of previously concealed valley, lay between the 
double summit of the mighty mountain, the hope 
of the coming and kingdom of Christ. Micah 
foretold that He shoula come out of Bethlehem, 
Zechariah that his feet should stand on the 
mount of Olives; but who suspected that at least 
1800 years were to elapse between the two 
events? The exact period when He should come 
and be cut off was foretold, though in symbolic 
style; and in the same style, a glimpse was giv¬ 
en of the interval to elapse, before He came 
again to be “King over all the earth. Vast 
progress had been made when Malachi, closing 
the volume of Old Testament prophecy, spoke 
of the Lord coming suddenly to his temple, and 
the Sun of righteousness rising with healing in 
his wings. How amazingly more full and cor¬ 
rect were the anticipations of Simeon and Anna 
than those of Adam and Eve! The earlier 
saints could only cast a wondering gaze abroad 
over the earth, and up and down through un¬ 
known ages; the later—knew the country, the 


15 


Progressive Revelation. 

city, the very building in which, and the very 
date at which, the Consolation of Israel should 
appear; and when at last the aged saint held in 
his arms the long promised woman’s Seed, he 
spoke of salvation, and of peace in believing, 
and of a sword that must pierce the heart of the 
virgin mother, proving that the mystery of the 
bruised heel was no dark one to his heart. But 
yet the consummation was not come, the ser¬ 
pent’s head was all unbruised, his power seemed 
mightier than ever. The goal receded as it 
was approached; t^-e kingdom of Christ was 
come, but it was only in a mystery. Once more 
the light of prophecy streams forth, the inter¬ 
val is filled in with copious details by our Lord 
and his apostles. The King is to go into a far 
country and to return; the mystery not made 
knowm in other ages is revealed by the Spirit, 
that the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs and par¬ 
takers in the promises; multitudinous features 
of the future are delineated by the pen of in¬ 
spiration; but the one grand old hope, the com¬ 
ing of Jesus Christ to rule, and reign, and 
judge, and destroy the devil and his works, still 
rises paramount to all the rest. Finally, in the 
Apocalyse the last stretch of country is laid to 
view, each milestone of this closing stage of the 
journey may be as it were distinguished and 
counted, the mists have cleared away, the inter¬ 
vening hills and valleys have taken their prop- 


16 Outline on Prophecy. 

er places, and as each rapid revolution of our 
globe brings us almost consciously nearer to 
‘‘that blessed hope,” we gaze with ever grow¬ 
ing admiration at its vastness, at its glories, at 
its unutterable height, at its awful shadows; un¬ 
til as we see the old serpent, and death and 
hades, cast forever into the lake of fire, and the 
New Jerusalem descend out of heaven, that tho 
tabernacle of God may be evermore with men, 
we exclaim; “It is done; the woman’s seed hath 
bruised the serpent’s head!” 

Thus again, the prophecies respecting the 
resurrection of the dead, and the future judg¬ 
ment, are few and dark in the Old Testament. 
Job anticipated resurrection versonally, and 
Daniel speaks of a resurrection of part of the 
dead. But we have only to contrast these and 
similar hints, with the clear and copious pre¬ 
dictions of 1 Cor. 15 and 1 Thess. 4., in order to 
be convinced of the progressive character of 
revelation on this subject. It is Christ who has 
brought life and immortality to light through 
the Gospel. 

Thus again, the past and future restorations 
of Israel, so often blended in one prophecy in 
the Old Testament, are broadly distinguished in 
the New, and the hidden mystery of the calling 
of the Gentiles is interposed between them. 
Compare for instance Jer. 30 and 31 with Rom. 
11: “the mystery of Christ.... in other ages was 


Progressive Revelation, 17 

not made known unto the sons of men, as it is 
now revealed unto his holy apostles and proph¬ 
ets by the Spirit, that the Gentiles should be 
fellow-heirs, and of the same body, and partak¬ 
ers of his promise in Christ by the Gospel” 
(Eph. 3: 3-6). These words are an emphatic as¬ 
sertion of the principle of progressive revelation 
in prophecy. 

II. The prophecies of the New Testament 
have this progressive character, and divide 
themselves into five series of predictions, each 
series in the succession, being in advance of the 
preceding one. 

1. The prophecies annunciatory of Christ, 
by the angels, by Zacharias, by Mary, by Eliza¬ 
beth, by Simeon, and by John the Baptist. 

2. The earlier prophecies of Christ Himself 
on earth. 

3. The later prophecies of Christ: Matt, 
chapters 22-25; Mark 13; Luke 21; John chap¬ 
ters 14-16. 

4. The prophetic teachings of the Holy 
Ghost through the apostles, contained in the 
Acts and in the epistles. 

5. The Apocalypse, or final revelation of 
Christ from heaven: “the Revelation of Jesus 
Christ, which God gave to Him, to show unto 
his servants the things which must shortly come 
to pass.” 

The first series declared in general the char- 


18 Outline on Prophecy. 

acter of Christ’s person and the grand objects 
and results of his mission; but they are silent as 
to all else. 

The second series, or early prophecies of 
Christ Himself, in Matthew 7 and 13, Mark 4 
reveal the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, 
its foundation and gradual development, its 
twofold character and its final issues. That 
this was an advance on all previous revelations 
may be gathered from the words of our Lord in 
Matt. 13: “Blessed are your ears, for they hear; 
for verily I say unto you that many prophets 
and righteous men have desired to hear those 
things which ye hear, and have not heard 
them.” 

The later prophecies of our Lord on earth, 
consist almost entirely of new revelations. 
These embrace, the rejection of the Jews on ac¬ 
count of their unbelief, the destruction of their 
city and temple, their dispersion among all na¬ 
tions, the treading down of Jerusalem by the 
Gentiles, the persecution of the Christian 
church, the world wide preaching of the Gos¬ 
pel, and his own second coming, with the signs 
and events attending it; also his own approach¬ 
ing sufferings and departure to the Father, and 
his return to receive his people, to Himself, with 
the coming and mission of the Holy Ghost dur¬ 
ing the interval of his .absence. Much as all 
this was in advance lof thej'^Lord’s previous 


Progressive Revelation. 19 

prophecies, He added, after making these rev^ 
elations: “I have yet many things to say unto 
you, but ye cannot bear them now; howbeit, 
when He the Spirit of truth is come, He will 
guide you into all truth; and He will show you 
things to come. ” After all therefore that had 
been revealed concerning the future, very much 
still remained to be made known, and was to be 
made known by the teaching of the Holy Ghost. 

Here is another distinct announcement of the 
principle of progressive revelation in prophecy. 

With the expectations thus awakened we 
glance next at 

The prophetic teachings of the Holy 
Ghost through the apostles. Examining 
the epistles in their chronological order, we find 
the two earliest, those to the church at Thessa- 
lonica, filled with the subject of the Lord’s com^ 
ing and revealing much fresh truth in connection 
with it. It is to be accompanied by the trans¬ 
formation of living saints, the resurrection of 
dead saints, and their joint rapture to meet the* 
Lord in the air; the manner of his return, and' 
(negatively) the time of it, are announced. €Lq?- 
pious and detailed descriptions of the apostasy 
to be developed in the Christian church are giv* 
en, as also the history of the man of sin, in 
whose career that apostasy was to culminate; his 
Satanic origin, his lying wonders and unright¬ 
eous deceptions, his consumption by the^ spirit. 


W Outline on Prophecy. 

of the Lord’s mouth, and his destruction by the 
brightness of his coming, are all foretold for the 
first time. 

One or two years later, Paul wrote his first 
letter to the Corinthian church, in which revel¬ 
ations are made fuller than any previous ones, 
on the subject of resurrection; its principles, its 
manner, the nature of the bodies in which the 
saints will rise, the instantaneous transforma¬ 
tion of the living to be effected at the sounding 
of the last trumpet, all these were newly re¬ 
vealed features. “Behold, I show you a mys¬ 
tery: we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be 
changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an 
eye, at the last trump. ” 

But, more important still, the order of this 
resurrection of the saints with respect to other 
events is mentioned: “Christ the firstfruits, 
afterwards they that are Christ’s at his coming 
Then cometh the end. ’ ’ The resurrection of 
saints was to be subsequent to Christ’s resurrec¬ 
tion, prior to the end; but how long subsequent 
to the one, or how long prior to the other, is not 
here revealed. 

About a year after, in his epistle to the Ko- 
mans, the apostle clears up the mystery of Is • 
rael’s future, and answers the question whether 
God had cast off his ancient people, whether 
they had stumbled that they should fall. He 
reveals that their judicial rejection was but for 


21 


Frogressive Revelation. 

a time; that it should terminate when the full¬ 
ness of the Gentiles was brought in; and that 
then all Israel should be saved, and the Deliver¬ 
er return to Zion. He thus ‘ ‘vindicates the ways 
of God toman,” and shows that his gifts and 
calling, are without repentance. 

Peter wrote his first epistle about ten years 
later; but though he speaks of the revelation of 
Jesus Christ, and the appearing of the Chief 
Shepherd, he added little to the sum of what 
was already known on these topics. But in his 
second epistle, written about the year 68, he 
unfolds the final doom of the heavens and the 
earth that are now; that they are to be burned 
up, the elements to melt with fervent heat and 
to be succeeded by a new heaven and a new 
earth wherein righteousness should dwell. He 
mentions also some particulars of the approach¬ 
ing apostasy, a subject on which Paul in his two 
letters to Timothy dwells more fully. Both 
apostles paint a dark picture of the “last days;” 
foretell scoffers, apostates, hypocrites, false 
teachers seduced by evil spirits to teach doc¬ 
trines of devils, a form of godliness without pow¬ 
er; and they speak also of their own departure. 

Then finally, thirty years later than the writ¬ 
ings of the other apostles, and closing the inspired 
volume commenced by Moses 1600 years before, 
we find the revelation made by Christ in glory to 
John. It is the latest gift of a glorified Savior 


Outline on Prophecy. 


to his suffering church, and is entirely different 
in manner, scope, and style from all that pre¬ 
cedes it. It is all but wholly devoted to pro¬ 
phetic truth; it contains a full and orderly proph¬ 
ecy of the events that were to transpire to the 
end of time; it unveils new scenes, and its dark 
.sayings are full of glorious light. It is evident 
that the prophetic matter of this book, was un- 
revealed previous to the death and crucifixion of 
Christ; for it is represented as contained in a 
seven-sealed book, written within and on the 
back side. A strong angel cries with a loud 
voice, ‘ ‘Who is worthy to open the book, and to 
loose the seven seals thereof?” and none is found 
worthy save the “Lamb as it had been slain,” 
who is in the midst of the throne. He comes 
and takes the book out of the right hand of Him 
that sits on the throne, and He opens its seven 
.seals. 

The descriptions contained in this book of the 
^sufferings of the faithful church under persecu¬ 
tion; of the sins of Babylon the great; of the 
judgment to be poured upon it; of the advent of 
Christ and of the first resurrection; of the mil¬ 
lennial reign of Christ (barely mentioned else¬ 
where in the New Testament); of the universal 
revolt at its close; of the judgments which fol¬ 
low; of the New Jerusalem; of the new heavens 
and the new earth; and of the eternal state— 
have no parallel in the whole compass of Scrip¬ 
ture. 


Progressive Revelation, 

Being written subsequently to the destruction 
of Jerusalem and the dispersion of the Jews, the 
Apocalypse omits reference to these events 
treated by earlier prophecies; and, being ad¬ 
dressed to the Christian church, it omits much 
found elsewhere, that is exclusively Jewish. 
But as regards all that was future to it, and of 
importance to the church of God, it presents a 
consecutive series of visions, combining and con¬ 
necting the separate revelations previously 
made, and adding much never before revealed. 

III. From these facts the following infer¬ 
ences may be deduced. 

1. God does not reveal all the future at any 
one time, but gradually, as the knowledge of it 
may be needed and can be received. 

2. We must not expect earlier prophecies to 
be equally comprehensive with later ones, nor 
endeavor to construct from the gospels and 
epistles alone, the perfect map of coming events. 
By its position as the last and fullest prophecy 
of the Bible, the Apocalypse is in advance of all 
other revelations, and a correct knowledge of 
the future is impossible apart from the study of 
it. No difficulties therefore, arising from its 
symbolic style or apparent obscurity, should lead 
us to dispense with its teachings. The testi¬ 
mony of later prophecies should never be in the 
slightest degree distorted, nor anything sub¬ 
tracted from their fullness, in order to bring 


2Jf Outline on Prophecy. 

them into harmony with earlier ones; but, on the 
contrary, their copious details and more com¬ 
prehensive teachings, must be added to all pre¬ 
vious revelations, and then allowed to modify 
the impressions we have received from earlier 
and more elementary predictions. 

8. We must not therefore reject any particu¬ 
lar prophetic truth because it is found ‘ ‘only in 
Revelation,” but receive the teachings of this 
final prophecy on its inspired authority alone, 
when they are unconfirmed by other Scripture. 

4. The Apocalypse being written for the 
church militant, for the dispensation to which 
we belong, and the days in which we live, is in¬ 
dispensable to the man of God who would now 
be thoroughly furnished to all good works. No 
portion of it should be considered as unimpor¬ 
tant, or treated as superfluous. ‘ ‘Blessed is he 
that readeth and they that hear the words of 
this prophecy, and keep those things that are 
written therein, for the time is at hand.” “If 
any man shall add unto these things, God shall 
add unto him the plagues that are written in 
this book; and if any man shall take away from 
the words of the book of this prophecy, God 
shall take away his part out of the book of life, 
and out of the holy city, and from the things that 
are written in this book.”—Rev. 22: 18, 19. 

5. The Apocalypse, as a precious and princi¬ 
pal light, shining in a dark place, until the day 


Progressive Revelation. 25 

dawn and the Day Star arise, should be allowed 
to cast its rich and final rays back over all the 
prophecies on the subjects of which it treats, in 
the volume which it closes; and its consecutive 
visions should be employed to bind together in 
their proper order, the separate links of such 
earlier predictions.—JT. Grattan Guinness. 

6. The prophecy in the Old Testament speaks 
mostly of the future of Israel, their victory over 
the nations and how they shall reign in peace 
and joy with their Messiah in their promised 
land forever and ever. We have the seed of 
prophesy about the Messiah’s coming and mak¬ 
ing reconciliation for sin and how He shall reign 
in glory in the Old Testament. His second com¬ 
ing for his bride and the translation of the bride 
are mostly found in the New Testament. Be¬ 
sides this prophecy there is a prophecy of 
warning for Israel by nearly every prophet 
what would happen with them if they were dis¬ 
obedient to God’s command. There is a full out¬ 
line of the woes, sorrows, and destruction, that 
would befall them if they would not take heed 
of the demands and the leading of the Spirit. 
The history of the Jews shows us that God has 
carried out everything in detail as He has pro¬ 
claimed through his prophets. We will give a 
few chapters on fulfilled prophecy on Israel 
which is very helpful to understand the future 
prophecy. 


CHAPTER II. 

Fulfilled Prophecies Concerning the Jews. 

While Moses, as a divine legislator, promised 
to the Israelites that their prosperity, and hap¬ 
piness, and peace would all keep race with their 
obedience, he threatened them with a gradation 
of punishments, rising in proportion to their im¬ 
penitence and iniquity;—and neither in bless¬ 
ings nor in chastisements hath the Ruler among 
the nations dealt in like manner with any peo¬ 
ple. But their wickedness and consequent ca • 
lamities greatly preponderated, and are yet pro¬ 
longed. The retrospect of the history of the 
Jews, since their dispersion, could not, at the 
present day, be drawn in truer terms than in the 
unpropitious auguries of their prophet above 
three thousand two hundred years ago. In the 
most ancient of all records, we read the lively 
representation of the present condition of the 
most singular people upon earth. Moses pro¬ 
fessed to look through the glass of ages; the 
revolution of many centuries has brought the 
object immediately before us—we may scrutin- 





KING OF KINGS. LOUD OF I.ORDS 












Fulfilled Prophecies. 27 

ize the features of futurity as they then appeared 
to his prophetic gaze,—and we may determine 
between the probabilities whether they were 
conjectures of a mortal, who “knows not what 
a day may bring forth, ’ ’ or the revelation of 
that Being, ‘ hn whose sight a thousand years 
are but as yesterday. ’ ’ 

“I will scatter you among the heathen, and 
draw out a sword after you: and your land 
shall be desolate, and your cities waste. And 
upon them that are left alive of you I will send 
a faintness into their hearts in the land of their 
enemies; and the sound of a shaken leaf shall 
chase them; and they shall flee as fleeing from a 
sword; and they shall fall when none pursueth: 
and ye shall have no power to stand before 
your enemies. And ye shall perish among the 
heathen, and the land of your enemies shall eat 
you up. And they that are left of you shall pine 
away in their iniquity in your enemies’ lands; 
and also in the iniquities of their fathers shall 
they pine away with them. And yet for all 
that, when they be in the land of their enemies, 
I will not cast them away, neither will I abhor 
them, to destroy them utterly.”—Lev. 26: 33, 
36-39, 44. 

‘ ‘And the Lord shall scatter you among the 
nations, and ye shall be left few in number 
among the heathen whither the Lord will lead 
you.”—Deut. 4: 27. 


28 Outline on Prophecy. 

“The Lord shall cause thee to be smitten be¬ 
fore thine enemies; thou shalt go out one way 
against them, and flee seven ways before them: 
and shalt be removed into all the kingdoms of 
the earth.”—Deut. 28: 25. 

“The Lord shall smite thee with madness, and 
blindness, and astonishment of heart: and thou 
shalt grope at noonday, as the blind gropeth in 
darkness, and thou shalt not prosper in thy 
ways: and thou shalt be only oppressed and 
spoiled evermore, and no man shall save thee. 
Thy sons and thy daughters shall be given unto 

another people,.there shall be no might in 

thy hand. The fruit of thy land, and all thy 
labor shall a nation which thou knowest not 
eat up; and thou shalt be only oppressed and 
crushed alway; so that thou shalt be mad for the 
sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see. The 
Lord shall bring thee, and thy king which thou 
shalt set over thee, unto a nation which neither 
thou nor thy fathers have known; and thou 
shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a 
byword, among all the nations whither the Lord 
shall lead thee.”—Deut. 28: 28, 29, 32-34, 36, 37. 

“Because thou servedst not the Lord thy God 
with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for 
the abundance of all things; therefore shalt thou 
serve thine enemies which the Lord shall send 
against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in 
nakedness, and in want of all things: and he 



Fulfilled Prophecies. 29 

shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he 
have destroyed thee. Then the Lord will make 
thy plagues wonderful, and the plagues of thy 
seed, even great plagues and of long continu¬ 
ance.”—Deut. 28: 47, 48, 59. 

“All these curses shall come upon thee, and 
shall pursue thee, and overtake thee, and they 
shall be upon thee for a sign and for a wonder, 
and upon thy seed forever. And it shall come 
to pass, that as the Lord rejoiced over you to do 
you good, and to multiply you; so the Lord will 
rejoice over you to destroy and to bring you to 
naught; and ye shall be plucked from off the land 
whither thou goest to possess it. And the Lord 
shall scatter thee among all people, from the one 
end of the earth even unto the other. And 
among these nations shalt thou find no ease, nei¬ 
ther shall the sole of thy foot have rest: but the 
Lord shall give thee there a trembling heart, and 
failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind; and thy life 
shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt 
fear day and night, and shalt have none assur¬ 
ance of thy life: in the morning thou shalt say. 
Would God it were even! and at even thou shalt 
say. Would God it were morning! for the fear of 
thine heart wherewith thou shalt fear, and for 
the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see. ” 
—Deut. 28: 45, 46, 63-67. 

The writings of all the succeeding prophets 
abound with similar predictions. “I will cause 


so Outline on Prophecy. 

them to be removed into all nations of the earth, 
I will cast them out into a land that they know 
not, where I will show them no favor. I will 
feed them with wormwood, and give them water 
of gall to drink. Jer. 9: 16. I will scatter them 
also among the heathen—whom neither they nor 
their fathers have known.”—Jer. 9: 16. 

“I will deliver them to be removed into all 
the kingdoms of the earth for their hurt, to be 
a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse, 
in all places whither I shall drive them. And 
I will send the sword, the famine, and the pes¬ 
tilence, among them, till they be consumed from 
off the land that I gave unto them and to their 
fathers.”—Jer. 24: 9, 10. 

“I will bereave them of children. I will de¬ 
liver them to be removed into all the kingdoms 
of the earth, to be a curse, and an astonishment, 
and a hissing, and a reproach, even among all 
the nations whither I have driven them. ”—Jer. 
29: 18. “I will execute judgments in thee, and 
the whole remnant of thee will I scatter into all 
the winds.”—Ezek. 5:10. “I will scatter them 
among the nations, among the heathen, and dis¬ 
perse them in the countries.”—Ezek. 12: 15. 

“They shall cast their silver in the streets, 
and their gold shall be removed: their silver 
and their gold shall not be able to deliver them 
in the day of the wrath of the Lord: they shall 
not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels: 


Fulfilled Prophecies. SI 

because it is the stumblingblock of their iniquh 
ty.”—Ezek. 7: 19. 

“I will sift the house of Israel among all na¬ 
tions, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet 
shall not the least grain fall upon the earth. 
Death shall be chosen rather than life by all the 
residue of them that remain of this evil family, 
which remain in all the places whither I have 
driven them, saith the Lord of hosts. They 
shall be wanderers among the nations.”—Amos 
9: 9; Jer. 8: 3; Hos. 9: 17. 

“Make the heart of this people fat, and make 
their ears heavy, and shut their eyes, lest they 
see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, 

.and convert and be healed. Then said I, 

Lord, how long? and he answered, Until the 
cities be wasted without inhabitants, and the 
houses without man, and the land be utterly des¬ 
olate, and the Lord have removed men far away, 
and there be a great forsaking in the midst of 
the land.”—Is. 6: 10-12. 

• ‘Though they go into captivity before their 
enemies, thence will I command the sword, and 
it shall slay them, —and I will set mine eyes up¬ 
on tnem for evil, and not for good. But he that 
scattereth Israel will gather him and keep him, ” 
—Jer. 31: 10. 

“But, fear not thou, O my servant Jacob, and 
be not dismayed, O Israel: for, behold I will save 
thee from afar off, and thy seed from the land of 



Outline on Prophecy. 

their captivity;.I will make a full end of all 

the nations whither I have driven thee: but I 
will not make a full end of thee, but correct thee 
in measure; yet will I not utterly cut thee off, or 
leave thee wholly unpunished.”—Jer. 46: 27, 28. 

“The children of Israel shall abide many days 
without a king, and without a prince, and with¬ 
out a sacrifice, and without an image, and with¬ 
out an ephod, and without a teraphim: after¬ 
ward shall the children of Israel return; and 
seek the Lord their God, and David their king, 
and shall fear the Lord and his goodness, in the 
latter days.'’—Hos. 3: 4, 5. 

All these predictions respecting the Jews are 
delivered with the clearness of history and the 
confidence of truth. They represent the man¬ 
ner, the extent, the nature, and the continuance 
of their dispersion—their persecutions—their 
blindness—their sufferings—their feebleness— 
their fearfulness—their pusillanimity—their 
ceaseless wanderings—their hardened impeni¬ 
tence—their insatiable avarice—and the griev¬ 
ous oppression—the continued spoliation—the 
marked distinction—the universal mockery—the 
unextinguishable existence, and unlimited diffu¬ 
sion of their race. They were to be plucked 
from off their own land—smitten before their 
enemies—consumed from off their own land, and 
left few in number. The Komans destroyed 
their cities and ravaged their country, and the 



Fulfilled Prophecies, SS 

inhabitants who escaped from the famine, the 
pestilence, the sword, and the captivity were 
forcibly expelled from Judea, and fled as house¬ 
less wanderers into all the surrounding regions. 
But they clung, for a time, around the land 
which their fathers had possessed for so many 
ages, and cn which they looked as an inheri¬ 
tance allotted by heaven to their race; and they 
would not relinquish their claim to the posses¬ 
sion of it by any single overthrow, however 
great. Unparalleled as were the miseries which 
they had suffered in the slaughter of their kin¬ 
dred, the loss of their property and their homes, 
the annihilation of their power, the destruction 
of their capital city, and in the devastation of 
their country by Titus—yet the fugitive and ex¬ 
iled Jews soon resorted again to their native 
soil; and sixty years ha 1 scarcely elapsed, when, 
deceived by an impostor, allured by the hope of 
a triumphant Messiah, and excited to revolt by 
intolerable oppression, they strove, by a vigor¬ 
ous and united, but frantic effort, to reconquer 
Judea—to cast off the power of the Romans, 
which had everywhere crushed them, and to 
rescue themselves and their country from ruin. 
A war, which their enthusiasm and desperation 
alike protracted for two years, and in which, 
exclusive of a vast number that perished by 
famine, and sickness, and Are, five hundred and 
eighty thousand Jews are said to have been 


3J^ Outline on Pmphecy, 

slain,—terminated in their entire discomfiture 
and final banishment. They were so beset on 
every side, and cut down in detached portions 
by the Roman soldiers, that, in the words of a 
heathen historian, very few of them escaped. 
Fifty of their strongholds were razed to the 
ground, and their cities sacked and consumed 
by fire; Judea was laid waste and left as a des¬ 
ert. Though a similar fate never befell any 
other people without proving the extirpation of 
their race or the last of their miseries, that aw¬ 
ful prediction, in its reference to the Jews, met 
its full completion—which yet they survived to 
await, in every country, when exiles from their 
own, an accumulation of almost unceasing ca¬ 
lamities, protracted throughout many succeed¬ 
ing ages. The cities shall be wasted without 
inhabitant. ‘ ‘Every city shall be forsaken, and 
not a man dwell therein. The Lord rooted them 
out of their land in anger, aod in wrath, and in 
great indignation.”—Is. 6: 11; Jer. 4: 29; Deut. 
29: 28., A public edict of the emperor Adrian 
rendered it a capital crime for a Jew to set a 
foot in Jerusalem; and prohibited them from 
viewing it even at a distance. Heathens, Chris¬ 
tians, and Mahometans have alternately pos¬ 
sessed Judea: it has been the prey of the Sara¬ 
cens:—the descendants of Ishmael have often 
overrun it: the children of Israel have alone 
been denied the possession of it, though thither 


Fulfilled Prophecies, So 

they ever wish to return—and though it forms 
the only spot on earth where the ordinances of 
their religion can be observed. And, amid all 
the revolutions of states, and the extinction of 
many nations, in so long a period, the Jews 
alone have not only ever been aliens in the land 
of their fathers, but whenever any of them have 
been permitted, at any period since the time of 
their dispersion, to sojourn tnere, they have ex¬ 
perienced even more contumelious treatment 
than elsewhere. Benjamin of Tudela, who trav¬ 
elled in the twelfth ceutury through great part 
of Europe and of Asia, found the Jews every¬ 
where oppressed, particularly in the Holy Land. 
And to this day (while the Jews who reside in 
Palestine, or who resort thither in old age that 
their bones may not be laid in a foreign field, 
are alike ill-treated and abused by Greeks, Ar¬ 
menians, and Europeans) the haughty deport¬ 
ment of the despotic Turkish soldier, and the 
abject state of the poor and helpless Jews, are 
painted to the life by the prophet. “The* 
stranger that is within thee shall get up above* 
thee very high, and thou shalt come down very- 
. low.”—Deut. 28: 43. 

But the extent is still more remarkable than 
the manner of their dispersion. Many proph¬ 
ecies describe it, and foretold, thousands of 
years ago, what we now behold. “They have 
been scattered among the nations,—among, the. 


36 Outline on Prophecy, 

heathen,—among the people, even from one end 
of the earth unto the other. They have been 
removed into all the kingdoms of the earth; the 
whole remnant of them hath been scattered into 
all the winds; they have been dispersed through¬ 
out all countries, and sifted among the nations 
like as corn is sifted in a sieve, and yet not the 
least grain has fallen upon the earth”—though 
dispersed throughout all nations, they have re¬ 
mained distinct from them all. And there is 
not a country on the face of the earth where the 
Jews are unknown. They are found alike in 
Europe, Asia, America, and Africa. They are 
citizens of the world, without a country. Nei¬ 
ther mountains, nor rivers, nor deserts, nor 
oceans,—which are the boundaries of other na¬ 
tions,—have terminated their wanderings. 
They abound in Poland, in Holland, in Russia, 
and in Turkey. In Germany, Spain, Italy, 
France, and Britain they are more thinly scat¬ 
tered. In Persia, China, and India—on the east 
and on the west of the Ganges,—they are “few 
in number among the heathen. ’ ’ They have 
trod the snows of Siberia, and the sands of the 
burning desert;—and the European traveller 
hears of their existence in regions which he can¬ 
not reach,—even in the very interior of Africa, 
south of Timbuctoo. From Moscow to Lisbon 
—from Japan to Britain—from Borneo to Arch¬ 
angel—from Hindostan to Honduras, no inhabi- 


37 


Fulfilied Fj'ophecies. 

tant of any nation upon the earth would be 
known in all the intervening regions but a Jew 
alone. 


CHAPTER III. 


Fulfilled Prophecies Concerning the Jews 

{Continued.) 

But the history of the Jews throughout the 
whole world, and in every age since their dis¬ 
persion, verifies the most minute predictions con¬ 
cerning them,—and to a recital of facts too well 
authenticated to admit of dispute, or too notori¬ 
ous for contradiction, may be added a descrip¬ 
tion of them all in the very terms of the proph¬ 
ecy. In the words of Basnage, the elaborate 
historian of the Jews—“Kings have often em¬ 
ployed the severity of their edicts and the hands 
of the executioner to destroy them—the sediti¬ 
ous multitude has performed massacres and ex¬ 
ecutions infinitely more tragical than the 
princes. Both kings and people, heathens, 
Christians, and Mahometans, who are opposite 
in so many things, have united in the design of 
ruining this nation, and have not been able to 
effect it. The Bush of Moses, surrounded with 
flames, has always burnt without consuming. 


Fit Iflllecl Prophecies, 39 

The Jews have been driven from all places of 
the world, vrhich has only served to disperse 
them in all parts of the universe. They have, 
from age to age, run through misery and perse¬ 
cution, and torrents of their own blood. ” (Bas- 
nage, b. 6. c. 1.) Their banishment from Judea 
was only the prelude to their expulsion from 
city to city, and from kingdom to kingdom. 
Their dispersion over the globe is an irrefraga¬ 
ble evidence of this, and many records remain 
that amply corroborate the fact. Not only did 
the first and second centuries of the Christian 
era see them twice rooted out of their own land, 
but each succeeding century has teemed with 
new calamities to that once chosen but now long- 
rejected race. The history of their sufferings 
is a continued tale of horror. Revolt is natural 
to the oppressed; and their frequent seditions 
were productive of renewed privations and dis¬ 
tresses. Emperors, kings, and califs all united 
in subjecting them to the same “iron yoke.” 
Constantine, after having suppressed a revolt 
which they raised, and having commanded their 
ears to be cut off, dispersed them as fugitives 
and vagabonds into different countries, whither 
they carried, in terror to their kindred, the 
mark of their suffering and infamy. In the fifth 
century they were expelled from Alexandria, 
which had long been one of their safest places 
of resort. Justinian, from whose principles of 


JfO Outline on Prophecy. 

legislation a wiser and more humane policy 
ought to have emanated, yielded to none of his 
predecessors in hostility and severity against 
them. He abolished their synagogues—prohib¬ 
ited them even from entering into caves for the 
exercise of their worship—rendered their testi¬ 
mony inadmissible, and deprived them of the 
natural right of bequeathing their property; and 
when such oppressive enactments led to insur¬ 
rectionary movements among the Jews, their 
property was confiscated, many of them were 
beheaded, and so bloody an execution of them 
prevailed, that, as is expressly related, “all the 
Jews of that country trembled:” (Basnage’s Hist, 
b. 6. c. 21. sect. 9,) a trembling heart was given 
them. In the reign of the tyrant Phocas, a gen¬ 
eral sedition broke out among the Jews in Syr¬ 
ia. They and their enemies fought with equal 
desperation. They obtained the mastery in An¬ 
tioch; but a momentary victory only led to a 
deeper humiliation, and to the infliction of more 
aggravated cruelties than before. They were 
soon subdued and taken captive; many of them 
were maimed, others executed, and all the sur¬ 
vivors were banished from the city. Gregory 
the Great afforded them a temporary respite 
from oppression, which only rendered their 
spoliation more complete, and their suffering 
more acute, under the cruel persecutions of Her- 
aclius. That emperor, unable to satiate his hat- 


Fulfilled Prophecies. 

red againt them by inflicting a variety of punish¬ 
ments on those who resided within his own do¬ 
minions, and by finally expelling them from the 
empire, exerted so effectually against them his 
influence in other countries, that they suffered 
under a general and simultaneous persecution 
from Asia to the farthest extremities of Europe. 
(Ib. sect. 17.) In Spain, conversion, imprison¬ 
ment, or banishment were their only alterna¬ 
tives. In Prance, a similar fate awaited them. 
They fled from country to country, seeking in 
vain any rest for the sole of their foot. Even 
the wide extended plains of Asia afforded them 
no resting-place, but have often been spotted 
with their blood, as well as the hills and valleys 
of Europe. Mahomet, whose imposture has 
been the law and the faith of such countless, 
millions, has, from the precepts of the Koran, 
infused into the minds of his followers a spirit 
of rancour and enmity towards the despised and 
misbelieving Jews. He set an early example 
of persecution against them, which the Mahom¬ 
etans have not yet ceased to imitate. In the 
third year of the Hegira, he beseiged the cas¬ 
tles 'which they possessed in the Hegiasa, com¬ 
pelled those who had fled to them for refuge and 
defence to an unconditional surrender, banished 
them from the country, and parted their property 
among his Mussulmans. He dissipated a second 
time their recombined strength, massacred many 


4^ 


Ou tline on Prophecij, 


of them, and imposed upon the remnant a per¬ 
manent tribute.—The church of Rome ever 
ranked and treated them as heretics. The can¬ 
ons of different councils pronounced excommun¬ 
ication against those who should favor or up¬ 
hold the Jews against Christians—enjoined all 
Christians neither to eat nor to hold any com¬ 
merce with them—prohibited them from bearing 
public offices or having Christian slaves—ap¬ 
pointed them to be distinguished by a mark— 
decreed that their children should be taken from 
them, and brought up in monasteries; and, what 
is equally descriptive of the low estimation in 
which they were held, and of the miseries to 
which they were subjected, there was often a 
necessity, even for those who otherwise op¬ 
pressed them, to ordain that it was not lawful 
to take the life of a Jew without any cause.— 
Hallam’s account of the Jews during the middle 
ages is short, but significant. “They were 
everywhere the objects of popular insult and op¬ 
pression, frequently of a general massacre. A 
time of festivity to others was often the season 
of mockery and persecution to them. It was 
the custom at Toulouse to smite them on the 
face every Easter. At Beziers they were at¬ 
tacked with stones from Palm Sunday to Eas¬ 
ter, an anniversary of insult and cruelty gener¬ 
ally productive of bloodshed, and to which the 
populace were regularly instigated by a sermon 


Fulfilled Prophecies. ^-5 

from the bishop. It was the policy of the kings 
of France to employ them as a sponge to suck 
their subjects’ money, which they might after¬ 
ward express with less odium than direct taxa¬ 
tion would incur. It is almost incredible to 
what a length extortion of money from the Jews 
was carried. A series of alternate persecution 
and tolerance was borne by this extraordinary 
people with an invincible perseverance, and a 
talent of accumulating riches which kept pace 
with the exactions of their plunderers. Philip 
Augustus released all Christians in his domini¬ 
ons from their debts to the Jews, reserving a 
fifth part to himself. He afterward expelled the 
whole nation from France. St. Louis twice ban¬ 
ished, and twice recalled them; and Charles 
VI. finally expelled them from France. From 
that country, according to Mezeray, they were 
seven times banished. They were expelled from 
Spain; and, by the lowest computation, one 
hundred and seventy thousand families departed 
from that kingdom. At Verdun, Treves, Mentz, 
Spires, Worms, many thousands of them were 
pillaged and massacred. A remnant was saved 
by a feigned and transient conversion; but the 
greater part of them barricadoed their houses, 
and precipitated themselves, their families, and 
their wealth into the rivers or the fiames. 
These massacres and depredations on the Jews 
were renewed at each crusade. In England, al- 


Jflf Oittline on Frophecy. 

so, they suffered great cruelty and oppression at 
the same period. During the crusades, the 
whole nation united in the persecution of them. 
In a single instance, at York, fifteen hundred 
Jews, including women and children, were re¬ 
fused all quarter—could not purchase their lives 
at any price—and, frantic with despair, perished 
by a mutual slaughter. Each master was the 
murderer of his family, when death became 
their only deliverance. The scene of the castle 
of Massada, which was their last fortress in 
Palestine, and where nearly one thousand per¬ 
ished in’ a similar manner, was renewed in the 
castle of York. So de.spised and hated were 
they, that the barons when contending with 
Henry III., to ingratiate themselves with the 
populace, ordered seven hundred Jews, to be 
slaughtered at once, their houses to be plun¬ 
dered, and their synagogue to be burned. 
Richard, John, and Henry III. often extorted 
money from them; and the last, by the most un¬ 
scrupulous and unsparing measures, usually de¬ 
frayed his extraordinary expenses with their 
spoils, and impoverished some of the richest 
among them. His extortions at last became so- 
enormous, and his oppressions so grievous, that,, 
in the words of the historian, he reduced the 
miserable wretches to desire leave to depart the 
kingdom; but even self-banishment was denied 
tnem. Edward I. completed their misery, seized 


Fulfilled Prophecies. 45 

on all their property, and banished them the 
kingdom. Above fifteen thousand Jews were 
rendered destitute of any residence, were de¬ 
spoiled to the utmost, and reduced to ruin. 
Nearly four centuries elapsed before the return 
to Britain of this abused race. 

Note. —The persecutions to which the Jews 
were subjected at that period are described with 
strict truth in the historical romance of Ivanhoe. 
They are characterized as “a race which, during 
these dark ages, was alike detested by the cred¬ 
ulous and prejudiced vulgar, and persecuted by 
the greedy and rapacious nobility. ”—(vol. 1. p. 
83.)—“Except perhaps the flying-fish, there 
was no race existing on the earth, in the air, 
or the waters, who were the objects of such an 
unremitting, general, and relentless persecution 
as the Jews of this period. Upon the slightest 
and most unreasonable pretences, as well as up¬ 
on accusations the most absurd and groundless, 
their persons and property were exposed to 
overy turn of popular fury; for Norman, Saxon, 
Bane, and Briton, however adverse the races 
were to each other, contended which would look 
with greatest detestation upon a people whom 
it was accounted a point of religion to hate, to 
revile, to despise, to plunder, and to persecute. 
The kings of the Norman race, and the inde¬ 
pendent nobles, who followed their example in 
all acts of tyranny, maintained against this de- 


JfC) Outline on Tvojjhecy. 

voted people a persecution of a more regular^ 
calculated, and self-interested kind. It is a 
well-known story of King John, that he confined 
a wealthy Jew in one of the royal castles, and 
daily caused one of his teeth to be torn out, un¬ 
til, -when the jaw of the unhappy Israelite was 
half-disfurnished, he consented to pay a large 
sum which it was the tyrant’s object to extort 
from him. The little ready money that was in 
the country was chiefly in the possession of this 
persecuted people, and the nobility hesitated 
not to follow the example of their sovereign in 
wringing it from them by every species of op¬ 
pression, and even personal torture.” (p. 120, 
121.)—The fictitious history of Isaac of York is 
delineated in a manner equally descriptive of 
the facts, and confirmatory of the prophecies 
respecting the Jewish people; and there exists 
not the history of any individual of any other 
nation, whether drawn from fancy or fact, 
which combines so many of the prophetic char¬ 
acteristics of the fate of a Jew, as that which 
has thus been delineated, by a,master’s hand, 
as a representation of their condition, at a peri¬ 
od about twenty-six centuries posterior to the 
prediction, and in a country two thousand miles, 
remote from the place where it was first uttered, 
and from the only land possessed by the Jews. 

Some remarkable circumstances attest, with¬ 
out a prolonged detail of their miseries, that 


Fulfilled reophecies. Jf7 

they have been a people everywhere peculiarly 
oppressed. The first unequivocal attempt at 
legislation in France was an ordinance against 
the Jews. And towards them alone one of the 
noblest charters of liberty on earth—Magna 
Charta, the Briton’s boast—legalized an act of 
injustice. For many ages after their dispersion, 
they found no resting-place in Europe, Africa, 
or Asia, but penetrated in search of one to the 
extremities of the world. In Mahometan coun¬ 
tries they have ever been subject to persecution, 
contempt, and every abuse. They are in gener¬ 
al confined to one particular quarter of every 
city (as they formerly were to Old Jewry in 
London); they are restricted to a peculiar dress; 
and in many places shut up at stated hours. In 
Hamadan, as in all parts of Persia, ‘ ‘they are an 
abject race, and support themselves by driving 
a peddling trade; they live in a state of great 
misery—pay a monthly tax to the government— 
and are not permitted to cultivate the ground, 
or to have landed possessions.” They cannot 
appear in public, much less perform their relig¬ 
ious ceremonies, without being treated with 
scorn and contempt. The revenues of the Prince 
of Bohara are derived from a tribute paid by 
five hundred families of Jews, who are assessed 
according to the means of each. In Zante they 
exist in miserable indigence, and are exposed to 
considerable oppression. At Tripoli, when any 


48 Outline on Prophecy, 

criminal is condemned to death, the first Jew 
who happens to be at hand is compelled to be¬ 
come the executioner,—a degradation to the 
children of Israel to which no Moor is ever sub¬ 
jected. In Egypt they are despised and perse¬ 
cuted incessantly. In Arabia they are treated 
with more contempt than in Turkey. The re¬ 
mark is common to the most recent travellers 
both in Asia and Africa, that the Jews them¬ 
selves are astonished, and the natives indignant, 
at any act of kindness, or even of justice, that 
is performed towards any of this “despised na¬ 
tion” and persecuted people. In Southey’s Let¬ 
ters from Spain and Portugal, this remarkable 
testimony is borne respecting them: “Till within 
the last fifty years the burning of a Jew formed 
the highest delight of the Portuguese; they 
thronged to behold this triumph of the faith, 
and the very women shouted with transport as 
they saw the agonized martyr writhe at the 
stake. Neither sex nor age could save this per¬ 
secuted race; and Antonio Joseph de Silvia, the 
best of their dramatic writers, was burned alive 
because he was a Jew. ’ ’ Few years have elapsed 
since there was a severe persecution against 
them in Prussia and in Germany, and in several 
of the smaller states of the latter country they 
were not permitted to sell any goods even in the 
common markets. The pope has lately re-en¬ 
acted some severe edicts against them: and 


Fulfilled Prophecies, 49 

ukases have recently been issued in quick suc¬ 
cession, restraining the Jews from all traftic 
throughout the interior government of Russia. 
They are absolutely prohibited (on pain of im¬ 
mediate banishment) from “offering any article 
to sale,whether in public or private, either 
by themselves or by others. They are not al¬ 
lowed to reside, even for a limited period, in 
any of the cities of Russia, without an express 
permission from government, which is granted 
only in cases where their services are necessary, 
or directly beneficial to the state. A refusal to 
depart when they become obnoxious to so rigid 
a law subjects them to be treated as vagrants; 
and none are suffered to protect or to shelter 
them. Though the observance of such edicts 
must, in numerous instances, leave them desti¬ 
tute of any means of support, yet their breach 
or neglect exposes them to oppression under the 
sanction of the law, and to every privation and 
insult without remedy or appeal. And though 
they may thus become the greatest objects of 
pity, all laws of humanity are reversed, by im¬ 
perial decrees, towards them. For those who 
harbor Jews that are condemned to banishment 
for having done whaFall others may innocently 
do, are, as the last Russian ukase respecting 
them bears, “amenable to the laws as the abet¬ 
ters of vagrants,” and, as in numberless in¬ 
stances besides, no man shall save them. 


50 Outline on Prophecy. 

Note —While the prophecies describe the 
past and existing miseries of the Jews, they re¬ 
fer with no less precision to the time yet to 
come, when the children of Israel shall have re¬ 
turned to the loved land of their fathers, and 
their rebuke shall have ceased from off the face 
of the earth, and when they shall prize their 
blessings the more highly, as contrasted with 
the former sufferings of their race. And the 
Word of God, confirmed as its prophetic truth 
is by the workings of the wrath of man, and by 
the policy of earthly monarchs, will doubtless 
triumph over the highest mandates of mortals, 
and receive new illustrations of its truth when 
these shall have passed away. And the elev¬ 
enth article of the ukase now in force merits, in 
reference to a special prediction, particular no¬ 
tice, and may here be subjoined, together with 
its corresponding text, promising merely that it 
is to a specific district of dismembered Poland 
that the Rabbis are sent away. “Rabbins, or 
other religious functionaries, are to be sent 
away by the police officer, immediately on the 
discovery that they are such. ” “Thy teachers 
shall not be removed into a corner any more, 
but thine eyes shall see thy teachers.”—Is. 30: 
20 . 

These facts, though they form but a brief and 
most imperfect record, and therefore but a very 
faint image of all their sufferings, show that the 


Fulfilled Fvophecies. 51 

Jews have been removed into all the kingdoms 
for their hurt—that a sword has been drawn af¬ 
ter them—that they have found no rest for the 
sole of their foot—that they have not been able 
to stand before their enemies;—there has been 
no might in their hands—their very avarice has 
proved their misery—they have been spoiled 
evermore—they have been oppressed and crush¬ 
ed alway—they have been mad for the sight of 
their eyes that they did see, as the tragical 
scenes at Mossada, and York, and many others 
testify—they have often been left in hunger, 
and thirst, and nakedness, and in want of all 
things;—a trembling heart, and sorrow of mind 
have been their portion;—they have often had 
none assurance of the!r life;—their plagues have 
been wonderful and great, and of long continu¬ 
ance,—and that they have been for a sign and for 
a wonder durirg many generations. 

But the predictions rest not even here. It 
was distinctly prophesied that the Jews would 
reject the Gospel, that, from the meanness of 
his mortal appearance, and the hardness of 
their hearts, they would not believe in a suffer¬ 
ing Messiah,—that they would be smitten with 
blindness and astonishmen of heart—that they 
would continue long, having their ears deaf, 
their eyes closed, and their hearts hardened— 
and that they would grope at noonday as the 
blind gropeth in darkuess. (Deut. 28: 29.) And 


52 Outline on Prophecy, 

the gfeat body ofjthe Jewish nation has contin¬ 
ued long to reject Christianity. They retain 
the prophecies, but discover not their light, 
having obscured them by their traditions. 
Many of their received opinions are so absurd 
and impious, their rites are so unmeaning and 
frivolous, their ceremonies are so minute, friv¬ 
olous, and contemptible,—that the account of 
them would surpass credulity, were it not a 
transcript of their customs and of their man¬ 
ners, and drawn from their own authorities. 
No words can more strikingly or justly repre¬ 
sent the contrast between their irrational tenets 
—their degraded religion—their superstitious 
observances, and the dictates of enlightened 
reason, and of the Gospel which they vilify, 
than the emphatic description, “They grope at 
noonday, as the blind gropeth in darkness,” 
And, if any other instances be wanting of the 
prediction of events infinitely exceeding human 
foresight, the dispositions of all nations respect¬ 
ing them are revealed as explicitly as their own. 
That the Jews have been a proverb, an astonish¬ 
ment, a by-word, a taunt, and a hissing among 
all nations,—though one of the most Vv^onderful 
of facts, unparalleled in the whole history of 
mankind, and as inconceivable in its prediction 
as miraculous in its accomplishment,—is a truth 
that stands not in need of any illustration or 
proof—and of which witnesses could be found in 


Fulfilled Pi'opliecies. 5S 

every country under heaven. Many prophecies 
concerning the Jews, of more propitious im¬ 
port, that yet remain to be accomplished, are 
reserved for testimonies to future generations, 
if not to the present. But it is worthy of re¬ 
mark, as prophesied concerning them, that they 
have not been utterly destroyed, though a full 
end has been made of their enemies,—that the 
Egyptians, the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the 
Romans—^though some of the mightiest mon¬ 
archies that ever existed, have not a single rep¬ 
resentative on earth; while the Jews, oppressed 
and vanquished, banished and enslaved, and 
spoiled evermore, have survived them all—and 
to this hour overspread the world. Of all the 
nations around Judea, the Persians alone, who 
restored them from the Babylonish captivity, 
yet remain a kingdom. 



CHAPTER IV. 


Fulfilled Prophecies Concerning the Jews- 

{Coiitinuecl.) 

The Scriptures also declare that the covenant 
with Abraham,—that God would give the land 
of Canaan to his seed for an everlasting posses¬ 
sion,—would never be broken; but that the chil¬ 
dren of Israel shall be taken from among the 
heathen,—gathered on every side, and brought 
into their own land, to dwell forever where .heir 
fathers dwelt. Three thousand seven hundred 
years have elapsed since the promise was given 
to Abraham. And is it less than a miracle, that, 
if this promise has been made to the descend¬ 
ants of any but of Abraham alone, it could not 
now possibly have been realized, as there exists 
not on earth the known and acknowledged pos¬ 
terity of any other individual, or almost of any 
nation, contemporary with him? 

That the people of a single state (which was 
of very limited extent and power in comparision 
of some of the monarchies which surrounded it) 


Fit Jfilled Prophecies. 55 

should first have been rooted up out of their 
own land in anger, wrath, and great indigna¬ 
tion, the like of which was never experienced 
by the mightiest among the ancient empires, 
which all fell imperceptibly away at a lighter 
stroke, and that afterward, though scattered 
among all nations, and finding no ease among 
them all, they should have withstood eighteen 
centuries of almost unremitted persecution, and 
that after so many generations have elapsed, 
they should still retain their distinctive form, 
or, as it may be called, their individuality of 
character, is assuredly the most marvellous event 
that is recorded in the history of nations; and if 
it be not acknowledged as a “sign, ” it is in re¬ 
ality as well as in appearance “a wonder,” the 
most inexplicable within the province of the 
philosophy of history. But that, after the en¬ 
durance of such manifold woes, such perpetual 
spoliation, and so many ages of unmitigated 
suffering, during w^hich their life was to hang in 
doubt within them, they should stiU be, as act¬ 
ually they are, the possessors of great wealth; 
and that this fact should so strictly accord with 
the prophecy, which describes them, on their 
final restoration to Judea, as taking their silver 
and their gold with them, (Is. 60: 9;) and also 
that, though captives or fugitives “fev7 in num¬ 
ber,” and the miserable remnant of an extin¬ 
guished kingdom at the time they were “scat- 


66 Outline on Prophecy. 

tered abroad,”—they should be to this hour a 
numerous people,—and that this should have 
been expressly implied in the prophetic declara¬ 
tion descriptive of their condition on their res¬ 
toration to Judea, after all their wanderings,— 
that the land shall be too narrow by reason of 
the inhabitants,—and that place shall not be 
found for them, are facts which as clearly show, 
to those who consider them at all, the operation 
of an overruling Providence, as the revelation 
of such an inscrutable destiny is the manifest 
dictate of inspiration. (Is. 69: 19; Zech. 10: 10.) 

Such are the prophecies, and such are the 
facts respecting the Jews;—and from premises 
like these the feeblest logician may draw^ a mor¬ 
al demonstration. If they had been utterly de¬ 
stroyed—if they had mingled among the na¬ 
tions,—if, in the space of nearly eighteen cen¬ 
turies after their dispersion, they had become 
extinct as a people, even if they had been se¬ 
cluded in a single region, and had remained uni¬ 
ted—if their history had been analogous to that 
of any nation upon the earth, an attempt might, 
with some plausibility or reason, have been 
made, to show cause why the prediction of their 
fate, however true to the fact, ought not in such 
a case to be sustained as evidence of the truth 
of inspiration. Or if the past history and pres¬ 
ent state of the Jews were not of a nature so 
singular and peculiar, as to bear out to the very 


Fulfilled Frofjhecies. 57 

letter the truth of the prophecies concerning 
them, with what trinmph would the infidel have 
produced those very prophecies, as fatal to the 
idea of the inspiration of the Scriptures? And 
when the Jews have been scattered throughout 
the whole earth—when they have remained 
everywhere a distinct race—when they have 
been despoiled evermore, and yet never de¬ 
stroyed—when the most wonderful and mazing 
facts, such as never occurred among any peo¬ 
ple, form tiie ordinary narrative of their his¬ 
tory, and fulfil literally the prophecies concern¬ 
ing them,—may not the believer challenge his 
adversary to the production of such credentials 
of the faith that is in him? They present an 
unbroken chain of evidence, each link a proph¬ 
ecy and a fact, extending throughout a multi¬ 
tude of generations, and not yet terminated. 
Though the events, various and singular as 
they are, have been brought about by the in¬ 
strumentality of human means and the agency 
of secondary causes, yet they are equally pro¬ 
phetic and miraculous; for the means were as 
impossible to be foreseen as the end and the 
causes were as inscrutable as the event; and 
they have been, and still in numberless in¬ 
stances are, accomplished by the instrumental¬ 
ity of the enemies of Christianity. Whoever 
seeks a miracle, may here behold a sign and a 
wonder, than which there cannot be a greater. 


58 Outline on Fropiiecij. 

And the Christian may bid defiance to all the 
assaults of his enemies from this stronghold of 
Christianity, impenetrable and impregnable on 
every side. 

These prophecies concerning the Jews are as 
clear as a narrative of the events. They are 
ancient as the oldest records in existence; and 
it has never been denied that they were all de¬ 
livered before the accomplishment of one of 
them. They were so unimaginable by human 
wisdom, that the whole compass of nature has 
never exhibited a parallel to the events. And 
the facts are visible, and present, and applica¬ 
ble even to a hair’s breadth. Could Moses, as 
an uninspired mortal, have described the hist¬ 
ory, the fate, the dispersion, the treatment, the 
dispositions of the Israelites to the present day, 
or for three thousand two hundred years, seeing 
that he was astonished and amazed, on his de¬ 
scent from Sinai, at the change in their senti¬ 
ments and in their conduct in the space of forty 
days? Could various persons have testified, in 
different ages, of the selfsame and of similar 
facts, as wonderful as they have proved to be 
true? Could they have divulged so many sec¬ 
rets of futurity, when, of necessity, they were 
utterly ignorant of them all? The probabilities 
were infinite against them. For the mind of 
man often fluctuates in uncertainty over the 
nearest events, and the most probable results; 


Fulfilled Frophecies. 59 

but, in regard to remote ages, when thousands 
of years shall have elapsed,—and to facts re¬ 
specting them, contrary to all previous knowl¬ 
edge, experience, analogy, or conception,—it 
feels that they are dark as death to mortal ken. 
And, viewing only the dispersion of the Jews, 
and some of its attendant circumstances—how 
their city was laid desolate—their temple, which 
formed the constant place of their resort before, 
levelled with the ground, and ploughed over 
like a field—their country ravaged, and them¬ 
selves murdered in mass—falling before the 
sword, the famine, and the pestilence—how a 
r emnant was left, but despoiled, persecuted, en¬ 
slaved, and led into captivity—driven from their 
own land, not to a mountainous retreat, where 
they might subsist with safety, but dispersed 
among all nations, and left to the mercy of a 
world that everywhere hated and oppressed 
them—shattered in pieces like the wreck of a 
vessel in a mighty storm—scattered over the 
earth, like fragments on the waters—and, in¬ 
stead of disappearing, or mingling with the na¬ 
tions, remaining a perfectly distinct people, in 
every kingdom the same, retaining similar hab¬ 
its, and customs, and creed, and manners in 
every part of the globe, though without ephod, 
teraphim, or sacrifice—meeting everywhere the 
same insult, and mockery, and oppression—find¬ 
ing no resting-place without an enemy soon to 


60 


Outline on Fropheey, 


dispossess them—multiplying amid all their 
miseries—surviving their enemies—beholding^ 
unchanged, the extinction of many nations, and 
the convulsions of all—robbed of their silver and 
of their gold though cleaving to the love of them 
still, as the stumblingblock of their iniquity— 
often bereaved of their very children—disjoined. 
and disorganized, but uniform and unaltered— 
ever bruised, but never broken—weak, fearful,, 
sorrowful, and afflicted—often driven to mad¬ 
ness at the spectacle of their own misery—taken. 
up in the lips of talkers—the taunt and hissing 
and infamy of all people, and continuing ever,, 
what they are to this day, the sole proverb 
common to the whole world;—how did every 
fact, from its very nature, defy all conjecture, 
and how could mortal man, overlooking a hund¬ 
red successive generations, have foretold any 
one of these wonders that are now conspicuous 
in these latter times? Who but the Father of 
Spirits, possessed of perfect prescience, even of 
the knowledge of the will and of the actions of 
free, intelligent, and moral agents, could have 
revealed their unbounded and yet unceasing 
wanderings—unveiled all their destiny—and 
unmasked the minds of the Jews, and of their 
enemies, in every age and in every clime? The 
creation of a world might as well be the work of 
chance as the revelation of these things. It is 
a visible display of the power and of the pre- 


Fulfilled Frophecies. 61 


science of God,—an accumulation of many mir¬ 
acles. And, although it forms but a part of a 
small portion of the Christian evidence, it lays 
not only a stone of stumbling—such as infidels 
would try to cast in a Christian’s path,—but it 
fixes an insurmountable barrier at the very 
thresh: Id of infidelity, immoveable by all hu¬ 
man device, and impervious to every attack. 



CHAPTER V. 


Prophecies Concerning the Destruction 
of Jerusalem. 

The commonv/ealth of Israel, from its estab¬ 
lishment to its dissolution, subsisted for more 
than fifteen hundred years. In delivering their 
law, Moses assumed more than the authority of 
a human legislator, and asserted that he was in¬ 
vested with a divine commission; and in enjoin¬ 
ing obedience to it, after having conducted them 
to the borders of Canaan, he promises many 
blessings to accompany their compliance with 
the law, and denounces grievous judgments that 
would overtake them for the breach of it. The 
history of the Jews in each succeeding age at¬ 
tests the truth of the last prophetic warning of 
the first of their rulers; but too lengthened a de¬ 
tail would be requisite for its elucidation. Hap¬ 
pily, it contains predictions applicable to more 
recent events which admit not of any ambiguous 
interpretation, and refer to historical facts that 
admit no cavil. He who founded their govern- 


Fulfilled Prophecies. 63 

ment foretold, notwithstanding the intervention 
of so many ages, the manner of its overthrow. 
While they were wandering in the wilderness, 
without a city and without a home, he threat¬ 
ened them with the destruction of their cities 
and the devastation of their country. While 
they viewed for the first time the land of Pales¬ 
tine, and when victorious and triumphant they 
were about to possess it, he represented the 
scene of desolation that it would exhibit to their 
vanquished and enslaved posterity on their last 
departure from it. Ere they themselves had 
entered it as enemies, he describes those ene¬ 
mies by whom their descendants were to be sub¬ 
jugated and dispossesged, though they were to 
arise from a very distant region, and although 
they did not appear till after a millenary and a 
half of years:—“The Lord shall bring a nation 
against thee from far—from the end of the earth 
—as swift as the eagle flieth—a nat on whose 
tongue thou shalt not understand,—a nation of 
fierce countenance, which shall not regard the 
person of the old, nor show favor to the young. 
And he shall eat the fruit of thy cattle and the 
fruit of thy land until thou be destroyed, which 
also shall not leave thee either corn, wine, or 
oil, or the increase of thy kine, or flocks of thy 
sheep, until he have destroyed thee. And he 
shall besiege thee in all thy gates, until thy 
high and fenced walls come down, wherein thou 


64 Outline on Prophecy, 

trustedst, throughout all thy land. ”—Deut. 28: 
49-52. Each particular of this prophecy, 
though it be only introductory to others, has 
met its full completion. The remote situation 
of the Romans, the rapidity of their march, the 
very emblem of their arms, their unknown 
language and warlike appearance, the indiscrim¬ 
inate cruelty and unsparing pillage which they 
exercised towards the persons and the property 
of the Jews, could scarcely have been represent¬ 
ed in more descriptive terms. Vespasian, Ad¬ 
rian, and Julius Severus removed with part of 
their armies from Britain to Palestine,—the ex¬ 
treme points of the Roman world. The eagle 
was the standard of their armies, and the ut¬ 
most activity and expedition were displayed in 
the reduction of Judea. They were a nation of 
fierce countenance,—a race distinct from the ef¬ 
feminate Asiatic troops. At Gadara and Gama- 
la, throughout many parts of the Roman em¬ 
pire, and in repeated instances at Jerusalem it¬ 
self, the slaughter of the Jews was indiscrimin¬ 
ate, without distinction of sex or age. The in¬ 
habitants were enslaved and banished, all their 
possessions confiscated, and the kingdom of Is¬ 
rael, humbled at first into a province of the Ro¬ 
man empire, became at last the private proper¬ 
ty of the emperor. Throughout all the land of 
Judea every city was besieged and taken, and 
their high and fenced walls were razed from the 


Fulfilled Prophecies, 65 

foundation. But the prophet particularizes in¬ 
cidents the most shocking to humanity, which 
mark the utmost possible extremity of want and 
wretchedness, the last act to which famine could 
prompt despair, and the last subject of a pre¬ 
diction that could have been uttered by man:— 
“And thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own 
body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy daugh¬ 
ters, .in the siege and in the straitness 

wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee: so 
that the man that is tender among you, and 
very delicate, his eye shall be evil toward his 
brother, and toward the wife of his bosom, and 
toward the remnant of his children which he 
shall leave; so that he will not give to any of 
them of the flesh of his children whom he shall 
eat: because he hath nothing left him in the 
siege, and in the straitness, wherewith thine 
enemies shall distress thee in all thy gates. 
The tender and delicate woman among you, 
which would not adventure to set the sole of her 
foot upon the ground for delicateness and ten¬ 
derness, her eye shall be evil toward the hus¬ 
band of her bosom, and toward her son, and 
toward her daughter, and toward her young 
one.... and toward her children which she shall 
bear: for she shall eat them for want of all 
things secretly in the siege and straitness 
wherewith thine enemy shall -distress thee in 
thy gates.”—Deut. 28: 53-57. Six hundred 



66 Outline on Prophecy, 

years posterior to this prediction, when Samar¬ 
ia, then the capital of Israel, was besieged by 
all the host of the king of Syria, the most loath¬ 
some substitute for food was of great price, and 
an ass’s head was sold for eighty pieces of sil¬ 
ver. (2 Kings 6: 4.) When Nebuchadnezzar 
besieged Jerusalem, the famine prevailed in the 
city, and there was no bread for the people of 
the land. And Josephus relates the direful ca¬ 
lamities of the Jews in their last siege, before 
they ceased to have a city. The famine was 
too powerful for all other passions; for what 
was otherwise reverenced was in this case de¬ 
spised. Children snatched the food out of the 
very mouths of their fathers; and even moth¬ 
ers, overcoming the tenderest feelings of na¬ 
ture, took from their perishing infants the last 
morsels that could sustain their lives. In every 
house where there was the least shadow of food 
a contest arose; and the nearest relatives strug¬ 
gled with each other for the miserable means of 
subsistence. He adds a most revolting detail. 
While in all these cases the eye of man was 
thus evil towards his brother in the siege and in 
the straitness wherewith their enemies dis¬ 
tressed them,— the unparalleled inhuman com¬ 
pact between the two women of Samaria; the 
bitter lamentation of Jeremiah over the miser¬ 
ies of the siege which he witnessed,—“The hands 
of the pitiful women have sodden their own 


Fulfilled Prophecies. 67 

children, they were their meat in the destruc¬ 
tion of the daughter of my people;” and the 
harrowing recital by Josephus of the noble lady 
killing with her own hands and eating secretly 
her own suckling (the discovery of which struck 
even the whole suffering city with horror), 
which are all recorded as facts, without the 
least allusion to the prediction,—too faithfully 
realize to the very letter the dread denuncia¬ 
tions of the prophet. When any well-authenti¬ 
cated facts of so singular and appalling a na¬ 
ture were predicted for ages, they could not 
possibly have been revealed but by inspiration 
from that Omniscience which alone can foresee 
the termination of the iniquities of nations. 

Moses and the other prophets foretold also 
that the Jews would be left few in number—^that 
they would be slain before their enemies—that 
the pride of their power would be broken—that 
their cities would be laid waste—that they 
would be destroyed and brought to naught— 
plucked from off the land—sold for slaves—and 
that none would buy them—that their high 
places were to be desolate—and their bones to 
be scattered around their altars—that Jerusalem 
was to be encamped round about—to be besieged 
with amount—to have forts raised against it— 
to be ploughed over as a field, and to become 
heaps;—that the end was to come upon it, and 
that the Lord would judge them according ot 


68 Outline on Pi^ophecy, 

their ways, and recompense them for -all their 
abominations; the sword without, and the pes¬ 
tilence and the famine within;—“he that is in 
the field shall die with the sword; and he that 
is in the city, famine and pestilence shall de¬ 
vour him.”—Ezek. 7: 7-15; Lev. 26: 30; Deut. 
28: 62; Is. 29: 3; Ezek. 6: 5; Micah 3: 12; Jer, 26: 
18. 

These predictions relative to the siege and de¬ 
struction of Jerusalem, which are recorded in 
the Pentateuch and in the subsequent prophecies, 
accord with the minute prophetic narrative 
which Jesus gave of the same sad event. Any 
adequate delineation of it alone would far sur¬ 
pass the limits of this treatise. But the sub¬ 
ject has been fully and frequently illustrated, 
and the prediction harmonizes so completely 
with the unimpeachable testimony of impartial 
historians, that it is merely necessary, for the 
elucidation of its truth, to compare the pro¬ 
phetic description with the historical facts. 

Besides frequent allusions in his discourses 
and parables, the predictions of Christ concern¬ 
ing Jerusalem are recorded at length by three 
of the evangelists. They are omitted by the 
Apostle John, in whose writings alone, from 
the age to which he lived, their insertion would 
have been suspicious. They were delivered to 
the disciples of Christ in answer to those direct 
questions which they put, in their surprise and 


Fulfilled Pj^ophecies 69 

alarm, at his declaration of the fate of the tem¬ 
ple, “When shall these things be? When shall 
be the sign of them, and of the end of the 
world?” (Matt. 21: 18-33; 22: 1-7; 25: 14-30; 
Mark 11: 12-20; Luke 13: 6-9; 14: 17-24; 20: 9-19; 
23: 27-31.) The reply embraces all the subjects 
of the query, and is equally circumstantial and 
distinct. The death of Christ happened thirty- 
seven years previous to the destruction of Jer¬ 
usalem. By the unanimous testimony of antiq¬ 
uity, the three gospels were published, and at 
least two of the evangelists were dead, several 
years before that event. Copies of the gospels 
were disseminated so extensively and rapidly, 
that any deceit must have been instantaneously 
detected by the powerful, and numerous, and 
watchful enemies of the cross. And the evi¬ 
dence of the prior publicity of the gospels was 
so strong, that it remained unchallenged by 
Julian, by Porphyry, or by Celsus. The au¬ 
thenticity of the prophecy thus rests on sure 
grounds, and the facts in which it received its 
accomplishment are incontestable. Josephus 
was one of the most distinguished generals in 
the commencement of the Jewish war; he was 
an eye-witness of the facts which he records; 
he appeals to Vespasian and to Titus for the 
truth of his history: it received the singular at¬ 
testation of the subscription of the latter to its 
accuracy: it was published while the facts were 


70 


Outline oix Prophecy, 


recent and notorious; and the extreme careful¬ 
ness with which he avoids the mention of the 
name of Christ, in the history of the Jewish 
war, is not less remarkable than the great pre¬ 
cision with which he describes the events that 
verify his predictions. Not a few of the trans¬ 
actions are also related by Tacitus, Philostratus, 
and Dion Cassius. 




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CHAPTER VI. 

Prophecies Concerning the De¬ 
struction of Jerusalem, 

The different prophecies of Christ respecting 
Jerusalem may be condensed into a single view: 

“And Jesus went out and departed from the 
temple: and his disciples came to him for to show 
him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus 
said unto them, See ye not all these things? ver¬ 
ily I say unto you, There shall not be left here 
one stone upon another that shall not be thrown 
down. And as he sat upon the Mount of Olives, 
the disciples came unto him privately, saying, 
Tell us, when shall these things be? and what 
shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end 
of the world? And Jesus answered and said 
unto them. Take heed that no man deceive you. 
For many shall come in my name saying, I am 
Christ; and shall deceive many. And the time 
draws near; and ye shall hear of wars, and ru¬ 
mours of wars,—or commotions; these things 
must first come to pass, but the end is not yet. 


7^ Outline on Prophecy. 

Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom 
against kingdom: and great earthquakes shall 
be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences, 
and fearful sights, and great signs shall there 
be from heaven. All these things are the be¬ 
ginning of sorrows. But, before all these 
things, shall they lay their hands upon you, and 
persecute you, delivering you up to the syna¬ 
gogues and in prisons, being brought before 
kings and rulers for my name’s sake. And 
many shall be offended. Ye shall be betrayed 
both by parents and brethren, and kinsfolk and 
friends; and some of you shall they cause to be 
put to death, and ye shall be hated of all men 
for my name’s sake. But there shall not a hair 
of your head perish. And many false prophets 
will arise and will deceive many; and, because 
iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall 
wax cold. And the Gospel must first be pub¬ 
lished among all nations, and then shall the end 
come. When ye, therefore, shall see Jerusalem 
encompassed with armies, and the abomination 
of desolation stand in the holy place, and where 
it ought not, then let them which are in Judea 
flee to the mountains, and let him which is in 
the midst of it depart out. Let him which is on 
the housetop not go down into the house, nei¬ 
ther enter therein to take anything out of his 
house. Neither let him that is in the field turn 
back again for to take up his garment, for these 


Fulfilled Fropliecies. 7S 

are the days of vengeance. But woe unto them 
that are with child, and to them that give suc.i 
in those days; for there will be great distress in 
the land, and wrath upon this people—and they 
shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be 
led captive into all nations. There shall be 
great tribulation, such as was not from the be¬ 
ginning of the world to this time—no, nor ever 
shall be,—and Jerusalem shall be trodden down 
of the Gentiles, until the time of the Gentiles be 
fulfilled. This generation shall not pass away 
till all these things be done. 

“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees—fill ye 
up the measure of your fathers. Behold I send 
unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: 

.and some of them ye will scourge in your 

synagogues, and persecute from city to city. 
(All these things shall be done in this genera¬ 
tion.) O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest 
the prophets, and stonest them that are sent 
unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy 
children together, even as a hen gathereth her 
chickens under her wings, and ye would not. 
Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. 
For I say unto you. Ye shall not see me hence¬ 
forth till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh 
in the name of the Lord.”—Matt. 23: 34-39. 

“When he came near, he beheld the city, and 
wept over it, saying. If thou hadst known, even 
thou, at least in this thy day, the things which 



HJf Outline on Prophecy. 

belong to thy peace! but now they are hid from 
thine eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, 
that thine enemies shall cast a trench about 
thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in 
on every side, and shall lay thee even with the 
ground, and thy children within thee; and they 
shall not leave in thee one stone upon another, 
because thou knowest not the time of thy visita¬ 
tion.”—Luke 19: 41-44. 

These prophecies from the Old Testament and 
from the New repel the charge of ambiguity. 
They are equally copious and clear. History 
attests the truth of each and all of them; and a 
recapitulation of them forms an enumeration of 
the facts. False Christs appeared. Simon Ma¬ 
gus boasted that he was some great one; Do- 
sitheus, the Samaritan, pretended that he was 
the lawgiver prophesied of by Moses; Theudas, 
promising the performance of a miracle, per¬ 
suaded a great multitude to follow him to Jor¬ 
dan, and deceived many. (Joseph. Ant. 20: 5, 
1; Jos. 20: 7, 5.) The country was filled with 
impostors and deceivers, who induced the peo¬ 
ple to follow them into the wilderness;—their 
credulity became the punishment of their pre¬ 
vious skepticism, and, in one instance, the tu¬ 
mult was so great that the soldiers took two hun¬ 
dred prisoners, and slew twice that number. 
“There were wars and rumors of wars; nation 
rose against nation, and kingdom against king- 


Fulfilled Prophecies. 75 

dom.” The Jews resisted the erection of the 
statue of Caligula in the temple; and such was 
the dread of Roman resentment, that the fields 
remained uncultivated. (Joseph, de Bell. 1. 2: 
18, 1, 2.) At Caesarea, the Jews and the Syri¬ 
ans contended for the mastery of the city. 
Twenty thousand of the former were put to 
death, and the rest were expelled. Every city 
in Syria was then divided into two armies and 
multitudes were slaughtered. Alexandria and 
Damascus presented a similar scene of blood¬ 
shed. About fifty thousand of the Jews fell in 
the former, and ten thousand in the latter. 
(Joseph, lib. 2. c. 13; c. 18, 1, 2, 7, 8.) The Jew¬ 
ish nation rebelled against the Romans; Italy 
was convulsed with contentions for the empire; 
and, as a proof of the troublous and warlike 
character of the period, within the brief space 
of two years, four emperors, Nero, Galba, Otho, 
and Vitellius, suffered death. 

“There were famines, pestilences, and earth¬ 
quakes in divers places.” In the reign of Clau¬ 
dius Caesar there were different famines. They 
continued to be severe for several years through¬ 
out the land of Judea. Pestilence succeeded 
them. In the same reign there were earth¬ 
quakes at Rome, at Apamea, and at Crete. In 
that of Nero there was an earthquake in Camp¬ 
ania, and another in which Laodicea, Hierapolis 
and Colosse were overthrown, and others are 


76 Outline on Frophecy. 

recorded to have happened in various places be¬ 
fore the destruction of the city of Jerusalem. 
(Suet. Vit. Clau. 18. Tac. Ann. 1. 12, c. 43, 1. 
14, c. 27. Jos. 4; 6. Tac. 1. 14. 27; 12. 43, 58.) 
“The constitution of nature,” says the Jewish 
historian, “was confounded for the destruction 
of men, and one might easily conjecture that no 
common calamities were portended.” (Jos. 4: 
4.) “And there were fearful sights and signs 
from heaven.” Tacitus and Jcsephus agree in 
relating and in describing events so surprising 
and supernatural, that their narrative perfectly 
accords with the previous prediction. And the 
fact cannot be disputed, that, w^hatever these 
sights were, the minds of men -were impressed 
with the idea that they were indeed signs from 
heaven: and even this could never have been 
foreseen by man. There is surely something at 
least unaccountable in their prediction and in 
their relation by historians unprejudiced and 
unfriendly to the cause which their testimony 
supports. 

The disciples of Jesus were persecuted, im¬ 
prisoned, afflicted, and hated of all nations, for 
his name’s sake, and many of them were put to 
death. Peter, Simeon, and Jude were cruci¬ 
fied. Paul was beheaded; Matthew, Thomas, 
James, Matthias, Mark, and Luke were put to 
death in different countries, and in various man¬ 
ners. There was a war against the very name. 


Fulfilled Frophecies, 77 

They were accused of hatred to the human race. 
The prejudices and the interest of the support¬ 
ers of paganism were everywhere against them; 
and, in one memorable instance, Nero, to screen 
himself from the guilt of being the incendiary 
of his capital, accused the innocent but hated 
Christians of that atrocious deed, and inflictad 
upon them the most excruciating tortures. 
(Tac. Ann. 1. 15. c. 44.) He made their suffer¬ 
ings a spectacle and a sport to the Romans. To 
compensate for his disappointment in not tram¬ 
pling on the ashes of Rome, as well as to cloak 
his iniquity, the monster (for the man and the 
monarch were both laid aside) gratified his sav¬ 
age lust of cruelty by the substitution of one 
feast for another; he selected the Christians for 
his victims, from the general odium under which 
they lay—and their very name became the war¬ 
rant for that selection, and sufficed to sanction 
the infliction of unheard of barbarities. ‘ ‘Many 
shall be offended, and shall betray one another; 
and the love of many shall wax cold.” The 
Apostle of the Gentiles often complained of 
false brethren, that many turned away from 
him, and that he stood alone, forsaken by all, 
when he first appeared before Nero. And Tac¬ 
itus testifies that very many were convicted, on 
evidence of others who had previously been ac¬ 
cused. ‘‘But the Gospel was published through¬ 
out the world,” in defiance of all peril and pro¬ 
secution. 


78 Outline on Prophecy, 

In the age of the apostles, esistles were ad¬ 
dressed to Christians at Rome, Corinth, Ephes¬ 
us, Philippi, Colosse, Thessalonica, and in Pon- 
tus, Galaiia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. 
After Christ delivered this prophecy, he was in 
a little time forsaken by all his disciples, and 
put to death as a criminal. At their first assem¬ 
bly, they were a little flock, the number of the 
names together were about a hundred and twen¬ 
ty. And, unpromising as the prospect was, a 
few fishermen of Galilee, aided afterward by a 
tent-maker of Tarsus, circumscribed not their 
labors, in the preaching of the Gospel, by the 
boundaries of the Roman empire. Could the re¬ 
ception or the fate of Christ himself have war¬ 
ranted such a conclusion? Did ever any cause 
triumph by such means? or was ever any cause 
opposed like this? And could any thing be 
more unlikely to have been clearly forseen, and 
positively affirmed? All these events preceded 
the destruction of Jerusalem, and then the end 
of that city was at hand. The signs of its ap¬ 
proaching ruin are given as a w^arning to depart 
from it. ‘ ‘Jerusalem was encompassed with ar¬ 
mies.” The Roman armies, with their idola¬ 
trous ensigns, which were an abomination to 
the Jews, surrounded it—but, instead of being a 
signal for flight, this would naturally have im¬ 
plied the impossibility of escape, and the warn¬ 
ing would have been in vain. Yet the words of 


Fulfilled Prophecies, 79 

Jesus did not deceive his disciples. Cestius 
Gallus, the Roman general, besieged Jerusalem; 
but immediately after, contrary to all human 
probability, an interval was given for escape. 
He suddenly and causelessly retreated, though 
some of the chief men of the city had offered 
to open to him the gates. Josephus acknowl¬ 
edges that the utmost consternation prev^ailed 
among the besieged—and that the city would in¬ 
fallibly have been taken. (Joseph. 1. 2. c. 19, 
20.) And he attributes it to the just vengeance 
of God, that the city and the sanctuary were not 
then taken, and the war terminated at once. He 
relates also how many of the most illustrious in¬ 
habitants departed from the city, as from a sink¬ 
ing vessel; and how, upon the approach of Ves¬ 
pasian afterward, multitudes fled from Jericho 
into the mountainous country. Thither, and to 
the city of Pella, fled all the disciples of Jesus, 
as credible historians assert. And amid all the 
succeeding calamites, “not a hair of their heads 
did perish. ” 

“There shall be great tribulation, such as was 
not from the beginning of the world to this time 
—no, nor ever shall be. There shall be great 
distress in the land, and wrath upon this peo¬ 
ple. These are the days of vengeance. ” Such 
are some of the words of Jesus, relative to the 
destruction of Jerusalem; and all the previous 
prophecies regarding it were of the same sad 


80 Outline on Prophecy. 

import. The particulars of the siege are all re¬ 
lated by Josephus, and form a detail of miseries 
that admit not of exaggeration; and which he 
repeatedly declares, in terms that entirely ac¬ 
cord with the language of prophecy, are alto¬ 
gether unequalled in the history of the world. — 
No general description can give a just idea of 
calamities the most terrible that ever nation suf¬ 
fered. The Jews had assembled in their city 
from all the surrounding country, to keep the 
feast of unleavened bread. It was crowded with 
inhabitants, when they were all imprisoned 
within its walls. The passover, which was com¬ 
memorative of their first great deliverance, had 
collected them for their last signal destruction. 
Before any external enemy appeared, the fierc¬ 
est dissensions prevailed—the blood of thou¬ 
sands was shed by their brethren; they de¬ 
stroyed and burned in their phrensy their com¬ 
mon provisions for the siege; they were desti¬ 
tute of any regular government, and divided in¬ 
to three factions. On the extirpation of one of 
these, each of the others contended for the mas¬ 
tery. The most ferocious and frantic—the rob¬ 
bers or zealots, as they are indiscriminately 
called, prevailed at last. They entered the tem¬ 
ple, under the pretence of offering sacrifices, 
and carried concealed weapons for the purpose 
of assassination. They slew the priests at the 
very altar; and their blood, instead of that of the 


Fulfilled Prophecies, 81 

victims for sacrifice, flowed around it. They 
afterward rejected all terms of peace with the 
enemy: none were suffered to escape from the 
city—every house was entered—every article of 
subsistence was pillaged—and the most wanton 
barbarities were committed. Nothing could re¬ 
strain their fury: wherever there was the ap¬ 
pearance or scent of food, the human blood¬ 
hounds tracked it out; and, though a general 
famine raged around; though they were ever 
trampling on the dead; and though the habi- 
tations for the living were converted into char¬ 
nel-houses, nothing could intimidate, or appal, 
or satisfy, or shock them, till Mary, the daugh¬ 
ter of Eleazar, a lady once rich and noble, dis¬ 
played to them and offered them all her remain¬ 
ing food, the scent of which had attracted them 
in their search—the bitterest morsel that ever 
mother or mortal tasted—the remnant of her 
half-eaten suckling. 

Sixty thousand Roman soldiers unremittingly 
besieged them; they encompassed Jerusalem 
with a wall, and hemmed them in on every side; 
they brought down their high and fenced walls 
to the ground; they slaughtered the slaughter¬ 
ers, they spared not the people; they burned 
the temple in defiance of the commands, the 
threats, and the resistance of their general. 
With it the last hope of all the Jews was extin¬ 
guished. They raised at the sight a universal 


82 Outline on Prophecy. 

but an expiring cry of sorrow and despair. Ten 
thousand were there slain, and six thousand 
victims were enveloped in its blaze. The whole 
city, full of the famished dying and of the mur¬ 
dered dead, presented no picture but that of de¬ 
spair—no scene but of horror. The aqueducts, 
and the city-sewers were crowded as the last 
refuge of the hopeless. Two thousand were 
found dead there, and many were dragged from 
thence and slain. The Roman soldiers put all 
indiscriminately to death, and ceased not till 
they became faint and weary and overpowered 
with the work of destruction. But they only 
sheathed the sword to light the torch. They 
set fire to the city in various places. The fiames 
spread every where, and were checked but for 
a moment by the red streamlets in every street. 
Jerusalem became heaps, and the Mountain of 
the house as the high places of the forest. 

Within the circuit of eight miles, in the space 
of five months—foes and famine, pillage and 
pestilence, within—a triple wall around, and be¬ 
sieged every moment from without—eleven hun¬ 
dred thousand persons perished—though the tale 
of each of them was a tragedy. Was there ever 
so concentrated a mass of misery? Could any 
prophecy be more faithfully and awfully ful¬ 
filled? The prospect of his own crucifixion, 
when Jesus was on the way to Calvary, was not 
more clearly before him, and seemed to affect 


Fulfilled Fropliecies, 83 

him less, than the fate of Jerusalem. How full 
of tenderness, and fraught with truth, was the 
sympathetic response of the condoling sufferer 
to the wailings and lamentations of the women 
who followed him, when he turned unto them, 
and beheld the city, which some of them might 
yet see wrapped in flames and drenched in 
blood, and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, weep 
not for me, but weep for yourselves and for your 
children. For behold, the days are coming, in 
the which they will say. Blessed are the barren, 
and the womb that never bare, and the paps 
which never gave suck. Then shall they begin 
to say to the mountains. Fall on us, and to the 
hills. Cover us. For if they do these things in 
the green tree, what shall be done in the dry?’' 
No impostor ever betrayed such feelings as a. 
man, nor predicted events so unlikely, astonish¬ 
ing, and true, as an attestation of a divine com¬ 
mission. Jesus revealed the very judgments, 
of God; for such the instrument by whom it was; 
accomplished interpreted the capture and de¬ 
struction of Jerusalem, acknowledging that, bis; 
own power would otherwise have been ineffect¬ 
ual. When eulogized for the victory, Titus dis¬ 
claimed the praise, affirming, that he was only 
the instrument of executing the sentence of the 
divine justice. And their own historian asserts, 
in conformity with every declaration of Scrip¬ 
ture upon the subject, that the iniquities, of the. 


SJf Outline on Prophecy. 

Jews Were as unparalleled as their punishment. 

All these prophecies, of which we have been 
reviewing the accomplishment, were delivered 
in a time of perfect peace, when the Jews re¬ 
tained their own laws, and enjoyed the protec¬ 
tion, as they were subject to the authority, of 
the Roman empire, then in the zenith of its 
power. The wonder excited in the minds of his 
disciples at the strength and stabiltiy of the tem¬ 
ple drew forth from Jesus the announcement of 
its speedy and utter ruin. He foretold the ap¬ 
pearance of false Christs and pretended proph¬ 
ets; the wars and rumors of wars; the famines, 
and pestilences, and earthquakes, and fearful 
sights that were to ensue; the persecution of his 
disciples; the apostasy of many; the propagation 
of the Gospel; the sign that should warn his dis¬ 
ciples to fly from approaching ruin; the encom¬ 
passing and enclosing of Jerusalem; the griev¬ 
ous affliction of the tender sex; the unequalled 
miseries of all; the entire destruction of the city; 
the shortening of their sufferings, that still 
some might be saved; and that all this dread 
crowd of events, which might well have occu¬ 
pied the progress of ages, was to pass away 
within the limits of a single generation. None 
but He who discerns futurity could have fore¬ 
told and described all these things: and their 
complete and literal fulflllment shows them to 
be indubitably the revelation of God. 


Fulfilled Prophecies. 85 

But the prophecies also mark minuter facts, 
if possible more unlikely to have happened, 
Jerusalem was to be ploughed over as a field; 
to be laid even with the ground; of the temple 
one stone was not to be left upon another; the 
Jews were to be few in number; to be led cap¬ 
tive into all nations: to be sold for slaves and 
none would buy them. And each of these pre¬ 
dictions was strictly verified. Titus command¬ 
ed the whole city and the temple to be razed 
from the foundation. The soldiers were not 
then disobedient to their general. Avarice com¬ 
bined with duty and with resentment; the altar, 
the temple, the walls, and the city were over¬ 
thrown from the base, in search of the treasures; 
which the Jews, beset on every hand by plun¬ 
derers, had concealed and buried during the 
siege. Three towers and the remnant of a wall 
alone stood, the monument and memorial of Jer¬ 
usalem; and ^the city was afterward ploughed 
over by Terentius Rufus. In the siege, and in 
the previous and subsequent destruction of the 
cities and villages of Judea, according to the 
specified enumeration of Josephus, about one 
million three hundred thousand suffered death; 
ninety-seven thousand were led into captivity. 
They were sold for slaves, and were so despised 
and disesteemed, that many remained unpur¬ 
chased. And their conquerors were so prodigal 
of their lives, that, in honor of the birthday of 


86 Outline on Frophecy. 

Domitian, two thousand five hundred of them 
were placed, in savage sport, to contend with 
wild beasts, and otherwise to be put to death. 

But the miseries of their race were not then 
at a close. There was a curse on the land, that 
hath scathed it, a judgment on the people that 
hath scattered them throughout the world. 
Many prophecies respecting them yet remain to 
be considered, and much of their history is yet 
untold. The prophecies are as clear as the facts 
are visible. 




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CHAPTER VII. 


The Future of Israel, and their 
Restoration as a Nation. 

(Rom. 11: 25-29 ) 

25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignor¬ 
ant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own 
conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, 
until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in. 

26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, 
There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall 
turn away ungodliness from Jacob: 

27 For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall 
take away their sins. 

28 As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your 
sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for 
the fathers’ sakes. 

29 For the gifts and calling of God are without re¬ 
pentance. 

In the prophetic Scriptures of the Old and 
New Testament there are revealed to us three 
principal truths which are to become historical 
facts in the near future, but are to-day fulfilled 
only by a few characteristic signs. We have in 
view here, first of all, the future of Israel, that 
they shall return to their calling to which they 


88 Outline on Prophecy. 

are called by God, namely, to be messengers of 
the tidings of salvation. Secondly, we have 
reference to the reign of Antichrist to take 
place at the conclusion of the church-dispensa¬ 
tion; and finally, we look for the glorious com¬ 
ing of our Savior, to take into His heavenly 
kingdom those that wait for Him. 

It is not our intention to treat these subjects 
in the details of their development, but we would 
with the help of the Lord give in a few para¬ 
graphs an outline of these important truths. 

If we wish to obtain an understanding of 
Scriptural prophecy, it means for us to enter in¬ 
to the secret closet and shut the door, in other 
words, turn our eyes from the conditions and 
circumstances as we see them to-day, and have 
childlike faith in the Word of God as it reveals 
to us hidden things which the natural man is 
not able to discern. 

What the result will be of looking at conditions 
round about us and not believing the word of 
prophecy, is pointed out to us in 2 Kings 7; 17 
where the captain would not believe the prophet 
Elisha who predicted a time of plenty, because 
from all appearance that was an impossibility. 

The subject which we have before us is the 
restoration of Israel as a nation. The expecta¬ 
tion of such a restoration of the Jewish people 
found expression omong the disciples of Jesus. 
In their hearts they fostered the hope of a glori- 


The Future of Israel. 89 

ous future for their people, and even after the 
resurrection of Jesus when the Christian church 
was to be established, this hope again found a 
lively expression in the question they asked 
their Master whether he would at that time 
again restore the kingdom of Israel (Acts 1: 6, 
7). The answer of the Lord was that it was not 
then necessary for them to know the times or 
the seasons when this was to become a fact. At 
any rate the answer implies clearly that there 
shall be a time when the Lord shall restore that 
kingdom. 

Our text closes with the words that the gifts 
and calling of God are not repented of. It is 
true, Israel has not heeded the voice of the 
Lord, and until this day they are far from that 
to which the Lord has called and foreordained 
them. If the Israel of to-day should represent 
the final development of the ancient nation of 
the covenant, we could not avert a certain feel¬ 
ing of grief, coupled with the impression that it 
was not possible with God to make out of his 
own “people of the covenant” what He had pur¬ 
posed that they should finally be. 

If, on the other hand, we look only for a few 
moments into the prophetic Scriptures and let 
our attention be directed to the promises which 
are yet in the future for Israel, we can well 
comprehend what the apostle Paul says in the 
eleventh chapter of Romans in regard to the 


90 Outline on Prophecy. 

Jews. We are glad for Israel when we see 
what God has yet in store for them as a people; 
the greatest joy, hoTvever, is to know that what¬ 
ever our God takes into his hand, will be glori¬ 
ously performed, in spite of Satan who opposes 
it and seeks to frustrate the purpose of God. 

We first take into consideration a few leading 
thoughts regarding the restoration of Israel, as 
they are revealed in the prophets. Hosea 3: 4 
we read that the children of Israel shall for 
many days be without a king and without a 
prince and without a sacrifice and without a 
sanctuary. This has even for many centuries 
been fulfilled. Israel has lost all this, and it 
could indeed not be otherwise. God could not 
any longer permit them to continue in their 
typical worship after He had in Christ given 
them the true Gospel. In consequence of re¬ 
jecting the redemption in Christ, they have lost 
their former worship. In the fifth verse, how¬ 
ever, we read: “Afterward shall the children of 
Israel return and seek the Lord their God, and 
David (Jesus) their king and shall fear the Lord 
and his goodness in the latter days. ” Verse 4 
has been literally fulfilled on Israel, of which 
fact we are daily eye-witnesses; would it not be 
rash on our part to doubt the fulfillment of the 
fifth verse in which we are told that the conver¬ 
sion of Israel shall take place in the latter days? 

Israel in Hosea’s time refused to believe that 


91 


The Future of Israel. 

it could become a fact that they should be scat¬ 
tered and loose all they had. The nation at that 
time enjoyed a high measure of prosperity and 
all indications were that the highest point was 
not yet reached. The Holy Spirit, however, 
looked deeper and revealed to them their com¬ 
ing ruin hundreds of years before it came. 

When we see to-day how hardened the Jew 
generally is toward the truth, it is natural for 
us to become discouraged and to ask ourselves 
whether indeed there is yet hope for this peo¬ 
ple. If, however, we inquire into the Word of 
God, we have the assurance that what He has 
purposed to do. He will also perform in spite of 
all opposing forces. 

Hosea 5: 15 to 6: 3 gives us further revelation 
regarding the future of Israel, and in a few 
words presents a survey of the extent of the 
time in which the passage Hosea 3: 5, shall be¬ 
gin to be fulfilled. Chapter 5: 15 we hear as it 
were Jesus Himself saying: ‘tl will go and re¬ 
turn to my place, till they acknowledge their of¬ 
fence and seek my face.” Jesus, when He was 
upon the earth, revealed Himself to his people 
as a king, but they rejected Him and He has re¬ 
turned to his heavenly place. In the beginning 
of the sixth chapter the Holy Ghost lays the fol¬ 
lowing words in the mouth of the people: “Come 
and let us return unto the Lord, for He hath torn 
and He will heal us. He hath smitten and He 


92 Outline on FropTiecy'. 

will bind us up. After two days He will receive 
us: in the third day He shall raise us up and we 
shall live in his sight. ” In the third verse he 
describes further how they then will give ear to 
the Lord, and that He will be to them as a bless¬ 
ed rain. 

We have previously called attention to the 
fact that prophetic days are not days of twenty- 
four hours, but are periods. Such days some¬ 
times comprise a year, sometimes, three hun¬ 
dred anrl sixty years, in other passages even one 
thousand years. The Scriptures here have ref¬ 
erence to days comprising a thousand years; 
even the Rabbis of old give this interpretation 
to the above quoted prophecy; and although the 
passage is not altogether clear to them, they in¬ 
terpret it to mean that after two thousand years 
of contempt and scorn under the chastening rod 
of the Lord, He will have mercy on them and 
restore them again as a nation. According to 
Ezek. 36 and many other passages, the gather¬ 
ing into their country will take place before 
their conversion, as we shall see later. 

Acts 15 we find the apostles assembled in an 
earnest consultation. They were, it would ap¬ 
pear at a loss to know what measures to take, 
since more and more enmity against the Gospel 
was manifested by the Jews, and they, as a peo¬ 
ple, rejected the truth. The Gentiles, on the 
other hand, became gradually more eager to re- 


The Future of Israel. 98 

'Ceive it, multitudes joining the ranks of the be¬ 
lievers. After a long counsel James arose with 
a message from the Lord; his words found the 
consent of the whole assembly. He said that 
the declaration of Simon that God had accepted 
into his covenant a people from the Gentiles, 
was in accordance with the words of the proph¬ 
ets, as it is written, “After this will I return 
and will build again the tabernacle of David, 
which is fallen down; and I will build again the 
ruins thereof, and I will set it up.” This prom¬ 
ise we find almost literally in Amos 9: 9-11. At 
all events, it was at that time not clear to the 
apostles how long would be the interval of time 
until the fullness of the Gentiles should have 
entered in; one thing, however, was clear to 
them, that after this there will yet come a par¬ 
ticular season of grace, when the tabernacle 
which has fallen down will be built again and 
the natural branches again be grafted into the 
olive tree. 

Romans 11, verses 11 and 12 the apostle gives 
us a glimpse of the future of Israel; he states in 
verse 11 that in their run they did not fall but 
that they stumbled. God in his grace has laid 
in their way tiie stone of offence, the rock Christ 
Jesus, that they should not walk farther with¬ 
out accepting this rock as their corner stone. 
Israel, however, was so wrapped up in their 
own righteousness, and their eye was directed 


9 If Outline on Prophecy, 

to themselves in such measure, that they did 
not even see the rock, and therefore they stum¬ 
bled and are in fact since then stumbling; but 
this shall cease in due time. 

Paul looks still deeper and sees the blessing 
which has come to the nations through the fact 
t»~at Israel stumbled and the Gentiles were 
placed in Israel’s office to be messengers of the 
Gospel of Christ. He sees that if even this is 
so great a blessing, what a blessing indeed it 
will be for the nations when Israel is brought' 
back to their God, to occupy their office as a 
sanctified priesthood. (Ex. 19). 

Ezek. 37: 1-8, we find the prophet in the midst 
of a large field full of dry bones which were 
scattered everywhere and were very dry. Isra¬ 
el is spiritually so dry that they appear wholly 
insusceptible for higher things of a divine or¬ 
der; and if the Lord should ask us whether we 
believe that there shall yet come life into these 
dry bones, we should be obliged to answer with 
the prophet, “O Lord God, thou knowest. ” 
Nevertheless when the Lord commanded him 
to prophesy, he obeyed, and there was a won¬ 
derful noise among the dry bones, and they 
came together again and were even again cov¬ 
ered with sinews and fiesh. 

How clearly have we here the picture of a 
restoration of Israel as a nation. We may 
even say that we already have arrived at the 


The Fatitre of Israel, 95 

time when this promise is slowly beginning to 
be fulfilled. In almost every country where Is¬ 
rael is represented, the sounding noise from 
among the dry bones is heard. Israel’s eye is 
directed to Palestine, they make provisions to 
occupy that country again and inhabit it; their 
plans and constitutions for its government even 
are said to be already prepared. We believe the 
prophecies of the Holy Scriptures, and there¬ 
fore watch with the highest interest the commo¬ 
tions of Israel. 

A remarkable and frequently repeated pre¬ 
diction concerning the gathering together of 
Israel is this that they shall come out of the 
north country. The prophet Jeremiah alone 
expresses this thought at least five times. ^ 

Jeremiah 23: 7, 8 it is said that they shall 
come out of the north country and from all the 
countries whither they' had been driven. Chap. 
31: 8, 9 he says again that they shall come from 
the north country, even the blind and the lame, 
the woman with child and they that travail with 
child together, a great company. This passage 
points out a progress of immigration into the 
promised land; not only do the young go for the 
sake of temporal gain, but the whole nation is 
in commotion and is influenced by the Holy 
Ghost to such an extent that even bodily ail¬ 
ment and the like will not prevent their joining 
the procession. Chap. 16: 14-16 he again sees 


96 Outline on Prophecy. 

the people move from the north country to Pal¬ 
estine. In this paragraph it is shown how the 
Lord by a severe persecution causes the people 
to move from the strange country into their 
own land. 

A clear picture we have also in the prophet 
Jonah, and Jesus himself says that no other 
sign shall be given to this generation than the 
sign of that prophet, because they were indeed 
hardened and not in a condition to accept the 
light at the time when Jesus was upon the earth. 
Jonah was prejudiced against the Gentiles and 
was unwilling to obey the commandment of God. 
For two days God cast him into the depth of the 
sea and on the third day the fish threw him out 
again on the shore. He is a type of Israel who 
were disobedient to God. They were filled with 
hatred toward the Gentiles and not willing to 
bring them the message of peace, which they 
themselves failed to accept. The Lord allowed 
them to be cast into the sea of the nations, and 
after two prophetic days shall the nations cast 
them out, then they will be restored into their 
promised country. 

Both the house of Judah and of Israel shall 
together return to their country. The house of 
Israel was led into captivity over two hundred 
years before Judah, and even to-day we have no 
definite knowledge of what has become of the 
ten tribes; only this we know that very many 


97 


The Future of Israel, 

were unmercifully slain in captivity. Jeremiah 
3: 18, we read that both shall come from the 
north country, which would appear to have ref¬ 
erence to no other country than Russia. Nearly 
one-half of all the Jews live in that country, and 
the immigration to Palestine also is the most 
numerous from Russia. 

It is supposed by some that the ten tribes are 
to be found in England, yet the above passage 
together with some others are not reconcilable 
to that view. In this passage it is stated that 
the house of Judah shall go to the house of Is¬ 
rael and that both shall together go into their 
country; this alone is sufficient evidence to show 
that the ten tribes can not be the Anglo-Saxons. 
Some will tell us that all the glorious promises 
found in the prophets concerning the future of 
Israel have already been fulfilled in the return 
from Babvlon; this assertion, however, will nei¬ 
ther stand the test. Ezra 2: 1 it is clearly stated 
that only some of those returned who had been 
taken captive to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar. 
Since Nebuchadnezzar had only taken the house 
of Judah captive to Babylon, and Israel had at 
this time already been in captivity for two hun¬ 
dred years, and we read that both houses to¬ 
gether shall come, it is quite clear that this has 
reference to another gathering which is to come 
later. The prophet Isaiah takes up the subject 
of the restoration of Israel and their glorious 


98 Outline on PeopJiecij, 

future at least twenty-five times. We will here 
quote only the passage in Chap. 11: 12, 13: “And 
He shall set up an ensign for the nations and 
shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather 
together the dispersed of Judah from the four 
corners of the earth. The envy also of Ephraim 
shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall 
be cut off; Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and 
Judah shall not vex Ephraim.” This passage 
also tells us that there shall be a union of both 
houses which are to be gathered from the four 
corners of the earth. In the thirty-seventh 
chapter of Ezekiel we have indeed a detailed 
prophecy how the Lord shall reunite the two 
houses and that they shall never again be di¬ 
vided, but shall for all future be under the one 
shepherd whom they shall serve faithfully. 
(Ezek. 37: 18-24.) 



THE ANTICHRIST. 











































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































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CHAPTER VIII. 


The Development of the Kingdom 
of Antichrist. 

(Daniel 11: 36-45.) 

36 And the king shall do according to his will; and he- 
shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every 
god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God 
of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accom¬ 
plished: for that that is determined shall be done. 

37 Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor 
the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall 
magnify himself above all. 

38 But in his estate shall he honor the God of forces; 
and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honor 
with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and' 
pleasant things. 

39 Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with w 
strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase- 
with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many,, 
and shall divide the land for gain. 

40 And at the time of the end shall the king of the- 
south push at him: and the king of the north shall come- 
against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with 
horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into* 
the countries, and shall overflow and pass over. 

41 He shall enter also into the glorious land, and 
many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall 

L.cfG. 


100 Outline on Prophecy, 

escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the 
chief of the children of Ammon. 

42 He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the coun¬ 
tries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape. 

43 But he shall have power over the treasures of gold 
and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: 
and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his 
steps. 

44 But tidings out of the east and out of the north 
shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great 
fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many. 

45 And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace 
between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he 
shall come to his end, and none shall help him. 

In the previous chapter we have left the chil¬ 
dren of Israel in their own country where they 
have again become a nation. Endeavoring, as 
we do, to take the three important subjects, 
namely, the Future of Israel, the Kingdom of 
Antichrist and the Second Coming of the Lord, 
in the order in which they shall occur, we are 
compelled to leave the subject of the Future of 
Israel for a time and take up the second topic, 
the Kingdom of Antichrist, which shall take its 
beginning at the time of the restoration of Isra¬ 
el. We would say right here that it is not our 
intention to engage in speculation or give much 
time to'historical details; we shall keep close to 
the Word ascertaining what it has revealed to 
us. We also must not forget to distinguish be¬ 
tween the spirit of Antichrist’s kingdom and 
that kingdom itself. The spirit of Antichrist 


Development of Antichrist. 101 

was manifested in every period of Bible history; 
the actual kingdom, however, in which a king 
shall reign who in the Holy Scriptures is spoken 
of as Antichrist, will be manifested in the last 
times and shall be of only a short duration. The 
word Antichrist denotes a being in utmost en¬ 
mity toward Christ and his believers. To get 
to the bottom of this matter we should first of 
all understand the meaning of standing for or 
against Christ. 

This may perhaps at once become clear to us 
through the two types, which we find even 
in the garden of Eden: the one the tree of life 
(Christ), the other the tree of knowledge of 
good and evil (Antichrist). 

Man, created out of dust and filled with tue 
breath of God, was placed in this garden to de¬ 
velop, and, feeding upon the tree of life, to be 
filled more and more with the divine life; the 
tree of knowledge was to be left untouched by 
him. In this manner man was by obedience to 
be made free indeed from that which is natural 
and earthly, and was to pass over into the di¬ 
vine. There was, however, no compulsion. The 
tree of knowledge was not surrounded by a 
boundary, as the mount of Sinai when the 
law was given—God gave only the command, 
“Touch it not.” At any event it was possible 
for man to become disobedient and take of that 
tree, which in fact happened in course of time. 


102 Outline on Frophecy, 

Now the import of this was to develop the nat¬ 
ural and lose the heavenly, or in other words 
let the flesh have the upperhand to the suppres¬ 
sion of that which is spiritual. 

Here we have in few words the character of 
Christ and Antichrist. In Christ that which is 
natural in us shall die, and that which is godly 
shall be imparted unto us; as Adam’s life was 
maintained by his partaking of the tree of life, 
so for us all life is from Christ. 

Antichrist stands for the most complete devel¬ 
opment of sinful human nature, by the power of 
darkness, utterly excluding the divine life which 
is manifested to us in Christ. 

Our first mother, Eve, having heard that the 
tree “maketh wise,” striving for self-develop¬ 
ment to such a degree as to give her independ¬ 
ence from God, fell into the trap. Here we 
have the fundamental character of Antichrist: 
a development and reformation of man to a de¬ 
gree where he supposes to have no longer any 
need of God. Since Satan succeeded to over¬ 
come our first parents with this delusion, he 
will use this as his principal weapon until he 
shall be cast into the abyss. 

We shall notice later that all kinds of sin shall 
abound in the kingdom of Antichrist; all these 
sins, however, are the consequences of the one 
sin of being lifted up against God through the 
attempt to place self on the throne instead of 


Development of Antichrist, 103 

surrendering to Him who alone is able to make 
free from sin. 

Observing farther the development of Anti¬ 
christ, we find it taking place in every instance 
by the side of the chosen people of the Lord, 
even as in Eden the two trees stood by each oth¬ 
er’s side. As different in every respect as were 
the two trees in Eden, even so great is the differ¬ 
ence in the way and manner in which these two 
powers are endeavoring to win mankind. In 
order to win men for his kingdom, the Lord will 
lead them away from sin, offering to them some¬ 
thing better. Antichrist’s plan is to use force 
in order to bring men under his dominion, and 
all those who refuse to do homage to him he will 
destroy. 

We have the manifestation of this spirit even 
in the first children of Adam and Eve. Abel is 
the representative of Christ, Cain the repre¬ 
sentative of Antichrist. Cain, despising the 
idea of a bloody sacrifice, brought his offer¬ 
ing in his own righteousness. When he be¬ 
came aware that he was not acceptable in this, 
the next thought was to exterminate the divine 
seed. Concerning the development of both these 
seeds until the time of the flood, we see that the 
sinful seed had the victory; it became necessary 
til at the Lord should send judgment. Having 
destroyed the wicked, he made a new covenant 
with Noah. 


104 Outline on Pi'ophecy. 

Yet Satan also was not inactive. No sooner 
was everything put in order w'hen, under the 
new condition of things, he began his work of 
destruction through the seed of Ham. Not 
many years after the flood we see the spirit of 
Antichrist so far advanced that Babel could be 
built by the seed of Ham, in the land of Shinar, 
their principal place of abode. According to 
the prophet Zechariah, chap. 5: 11, it seems that 
that land shall be the principal stronghold of 
Antichrist even in the future. Zechariah sees 
two women with the ephah of wickedness fleeing 
to the country of Shinar where a house shall be 
built to this wickedness. These passages seem 
to have reference partly to the spiritual Babel, 
yet it is necessary to be cautious not to spirit¬ 
ualize the Holy Scriptures too much, otherwise 
there is danger of losing sobriety and that the 
Bible will not be used for the purpose for which 
it is given by God. 

In this land of Shinar, the work of the power 
of darkness was continued and the tower of Ba¬ 
bel built. At all events we have here a type of 
Antichrist. By means of the tovrer of Babel 
men endeavored to become again entirely inde¬ 
pendent, to make themselves a name, to defy 
the power of God, and to find a way of escape 
where punishment could not reach them. Again 
the Lord was obliged to interfere and to frus¬ 
trate their work by the confusion of tongues. 


Development of Antichrist. 105 

By this, men, it is true, were not made better, 
but their plan to cause all mankind to rise in a 
revolt against God and establish the kingdom 
of Antichrist, was frustrated. 

God chose another messenger of the tidings 
of salvation in Abraham, in order that the 
knowledge of God might not be lost to the world, 
and a divine seed might be preserved in it until 
God Himself, having taken upon Him the form 
of a servant, could be made manifest upon the 
earth. 

Again, in the second generation of this chosen 
one of God, we find Satan already successful in 
winning Esau for his plans. Esau, the brother 
of Jacob, became his deadly enemy. 

When Jacob returned to the promised land, 
Esau was obliged to leave and yield it to him; 
he went to mount Seir and became the father of 
the Edomites (Gen. 36: 1-10). The Edomites 
were the bitterest enemies of the people of God, 
endeavoring at all times to cause their downfalL 
Particular complaints against the Edomites are 
found in Psalm 187 and in the prophet Obadiah. 

Romulus, the founder of Rome, was according 
to the Talmud an Edomite, for that reason Rome 
is called by the Jews “the cruel kingdom of 
Edom.” If this should prove to be correct, the 
kingdom of Antichrist would descend from 
Edom, for as we shall see later, Antichrist shall 
be born out of the Romish kingdom. 


106 


Outline on Prophecy, 


Oftentimes in the history of Israel, we find 
Edomites endeavoring to meddle with the des¬ 
tiny of the people of God; and we even find them 
to occupy influential j>ositions in Israel. 

Under king Saul we find a Doeg. When Saul 
gave command to slay the priests innocently, no 
Israelite was found willing to perform so dia¬ 
bolic a deed, but Doeg the Edomite, murdered 
the priests in cold blood. At the time of the 
birth of Christ, was even the holy land in the 
hands of the Edomites, since the house of Herod 
descended from that people. Even so it shall 
be at the second coming of the Lord—the king¬ 
dom shall be in the hands of Antichrist. At 
that time, however, they shall not obtain their 
purpose to put to death the Son of God, but he 
shall destroy his enemy by the spirit of his 
mouth. 

If we have in Ham and Esau and their seed 
seen two factors by which Antichrist’s kingdom 
shall be developed, we know further that the 
third factor of that kingdom shall be an apos¬ 
tate Christendom (1 John 2; 18-23). The apos¬ 
tle says that the adherents of Antichrist went 
out from them, adding however that they were 
not of them, had never been born of God. Those 
who are nominally Christians counting them¬ 
selves to the Christian church, but are not born 
again of the Holy Ghost, shall in the last days 
unite with Antichrist’s kingdom. 


Development of Antichrist, 107 

As Ishmael, who was born after the flesh, be- 
»came the enemy of Isaac, and through his de¬ 
scendants, the Mohammedans, has caused more 
bloodshedding among those that constitute the 
ohurch of God than any other people, so all the 
nominal Christians who are born only after na¬ 
ture shall finally turn out to be the bitterest en¬ 
emies of the people of God, and the kingdom of 
Antichrist shall through the so-called Christians 
reach its complete development. Having seen 
•at the outset that the tree of knowledge of 
good and evil was a type of Autichrist and in 
fact contained the seed for his development, and 
having seen further that the tower of Babel is 
another type, indicating, as it does, a progress 
of development, we have a particularly clear 
type of Antichrist in Mohammed who was a de¬ 
scendant of Ishmael. For nearly one thousand 
years this terrible Mohammedan power of des¬ 
truction. was flourishing, and Satan succeeded 
in ruining millions of souls by means of it, and 
from all appearance it shall also play an impor¬ 
tant part in the kingdom of Antichrist. 

Another type we have in Antiochus IV. This 
tyrant, however, is even more than a type, he 
was the Antichrist of the Jewish church. Daniel, 
in chapter 11, gives, in a prophetic sense, a full 
description of the deeds of atrocity of Antiochus 
IV. Daniel 11; 1-20 treats cf the kings of the 
south and of the north, i. e., Egypt and Syria. 


108 Outline on Fropkecij, 

Between these two kingdoms there was a prO' 
tracted war; sometimes the one had victory,, 
sometimes the other. In verses 21 to 35 we 
have a detailed description of the deeds of An- 
tiochus IV who was nothing more than a usur¬ 
per. He had been sent to Rome with other no¬ 
bles as a hostage to guarantee the payment of 
the large debt which the Romans had exacted 
from his country. His brother Vv^ho was king- 
died early and Antiochus by means of money 
and flattery, succeeded to usurp the throne. He’ 
was a worthless fellow; nevertheless, by his au^ 
dacity he gained a number of great victories. 
Having not been able to subjugate Egypt wnich 
was in league with Rome, he on his leturn home 
vented his wrath upon the Jews, shedding 
streams of innocent blood. For a diabolic mock - 
ery of the Jewish religion, he offered sacrifices 
of swine upon their altar and murdered in the 
most horrible manner the Jews who refused te 
eat swine’s flesh. The pious Jews recognized 
in him the tyrant of the eleventh chapiter of 
Daniel. Even Dan. 11: 36-45 has reference prin- 
cipally to Antiochus, yet the Holy Spirit look - 
ing deeper, sees in him rather a type, since the' 
true Antichrist shall in the last days be eve n. 
more cruel toward the believers. 

Paul also in 2 Thess, 2: 4 sees that the fulfill¬ 
ment of this type will take place in the future; 
and as Antiochus intruded into the temple pro^ 


Development of Antichrist, 109 

faned divine worship, so the time will come 
when the real Antichrist will declare himself to 
be God, and in the temple of God demand for 
himself divine honor. 

Nations are preparing for the final battle of 
this world in which Antichrist will be the head. 
The following news was received at Washington 
which shows the great increase of naval power 
in the different nations: 

Washington, July 28.—News comes to the Navy Depart¬ 
ment that the powers of the world are feverishly active 
in naval construction, and that they are augmenting their 
fighting strength at a rate surpassing all previous records. 

The reports show Great Britain to be easily first in 
her naval progress, with France a poor second, and Ger¬ 
many and Russia about even with the United States. 
Great Britain is much stronger according to expert 
opinion, than France and Russia combined. The position 
of the United States, according to foreign estimates, 
should be as near France now as either Germany or 
Russia. The following shows what each power of the old 
world is doing in the way of increasing its naval force: 

Great Britain’s stupendous plan of naval increase 
makes that of other nations look small in comparison. 
The British Government, in order to maintain a force 
equal to that of any two other powers, is forced to ex¬ 
pend millions of pounds annually on warships Three 
battleships of 16,500 tons, two of 15,000 tons, six of 
14,000 tons, and three more recent ships of 15,000 tons, 
comprise its fleet of battleships now under construction. 
Of the armored cruiser class Great Britain is building 
the enormous number of twenty-four, ranging from 
14,100 tons’ displacement down to 9,800 tons. Of the pro¬ 
tected cruiser class she is building only six, and of the 
gunboat class a score or more, while her torpedo boats’ 
increase is limited to half a dozen, and her submarine 
boats to about the same number Of the latter class, the 
British service is yet in the experimental stage, and cares 
little for them. 

The French programme contemplates that thirty-seven 


110 Outline on Frophecy. 

vessels will be laid down during the present year; 
These are to be four battleships of 14,865 tons, two ar¬ 
mored cruisers of 12,550 tons, two destroyers each of 
303 tons, sixteen first-class torpedo boats, and thirteen 
submarine boats. At the end of the present year there- 
will be under construction in all for the French navy 
119 vessels. 

Germany is following a programme of increase agreed, 
upon some years ago and designed to place her ahead 
of Russia and the United States in amount of tonnage 
completed. Her fighting ships building now compose 
four 13,000-ton battleships, five 15,000-ton vessels of the 
same class, and two of 11,130 tons. Four armored 
cruisers of heavy displacement and a dozen protected 
cruisers are also a part of her increase plan. Germany 
is also building a number of gunboats and torpedo boats» 

After many years of inactivity in naval matters Italy 
has begun her naval efficiency on the seas, and is now 
building seven first-class battleships of modern design 
and carrying heavy batteries. She is also building a 
large armored pruiser and a number of other classes of' 
war vessels. 

Japan’s naval strength is growing rapidly, and in¬ 
cludes now under construction a first-class battleship and 
a large number of cruisers and torpedo boat craft. A 
new programme of naval expansion recently agreed to 
provides for four battleships of 15,000 tons each and 
two armored cruisers of 9,000 each and a number o*f 
smaller cruisers 

Russia is building five 12,000-ton battleships, five of 
13,516 tons,and seven varying from 12 ,000 to 5,000 tons. 
In addition there are thirty cruisers of miscellaneous 
vessels, including a large fleet of torpedo boats. 

Spain is beginning to show signs of some naval activ¬ 
ity, and may soon begin to revive some of her naval glory. 
It has been recommended by a special board appointed 
by the Queen Regent tha*i provision should be made for 
laying the keels of twelve battleships, four a mored 
cruisers, and a number of other ships. Some of her 
ships now building have been on the ways over tea years 
and are yet far from completion. 



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CHAPTER IX. 


Antichrist, his Reign and Character, 

In the previous chapter we have been per¬ 
mitted to gather out of the Holy Scriptures some 
fundamental ideas concerning the development 
of the kingdom of Antichrist. We shall by the 
help of the Eord in this chapter treat more fully 
of his reign and character. 

The first question regarding Antichrist will 
be concerning his origin. This must be two¬ 
fold, as Christ also is of twofold origin. Ac¬ 
cording to the flesh, Christ was a Jew; accord- 
to the spirit, He obtained his power from the 
throne of God. According to the flesh. Anti¬ 
christ must in accordance with divine prophecy 
come from the Romish kingdom, as we shall see 
later from Daniel chapters 1 and 7. As for his 
invisible power, he has it directly from Satan. 
Rev. 13: 2, we are told that the dragon gives 
him his power and his seat. It is this which 
the Devil offered to the Savior in his temptation, 
asking him at the same time to acknowledge him 
as his superior. Since Satan failed to overcome 


112 Outline on FrojyJiecy, 

Christ, he is seeking for another person to do 
him homage, and to whom he can give this 
power. 

When the fullness of the time was come, God 
sent his Son, and when the fullness of time for 
it will be at hand, and the kingdom of Anti¬ 
christ fully manifested, the Lord will no longer 
hinder Satan from pretending to be the Mes¬ 
siah. 

We find everywhere that it is Satan’s purpose 
to imitate the deeds of God, he produces coun¬ 
terfeits with which he deceives his followers. 
It is even so in matters of religion; the need of 
it is deeply realized by man, and the Devil does 
not dispute this, but rather makes use of it to 
practice deceit. 

Since the Lord knows that mankind is satis¬ 
fied only with a celestial leader, and it is the 
Father’s plan to give the kingdom to his anoint¬ 
ed one, Satan imitating God gives the world a 
leader after his own fashion. And as God de¬ 
livered up the kingdom to his Son, so Satan 
gives the power and dominion to his son, the 
Antichrist. That this dominion can be only of 
short duration, is evident, because the Son of 
God has by his death again purchased the 
world. The kingdom of Antichrist can continue 
only until God Almighty shall interfere and 
command it to halt. 

Why it is that the Lord permits such a king- 


Antichrists Reign. IIS 

dom to exist, is clear from 2 Thess. 2: 3-12; 
viz., because men have not believed the truth, 
God shall send them strong delusion that the 
persistent wickedness of their heart may become 
ripe for eternal destruction. 

We will yet give our attention to a few 
thoughts in the divine prophecy of Daniel, chap¬ 
ters two and seven, which treat of the same sub¬ 
ject; namely, the destiny of the world until the 
kingdoms of it shall become the kingdoms of 
the Son of God who shall rule them as their 
King. The four worldly kingdoms are repre¬ 
sented to us in types, and in these types the 
prophet shows that the fourth kingdom shall 
exist until the second coming of the Lord. We 
also see from these types that the fourth king¬ 
dom shall develop into the kingdom of Anti¬ 
christ. 

Although the pictures in the above two men¬ 
tioned chapters represent the same thing and 
give the same revelation, yet there is much dif¬ 
ference in their appearance. We may notice 
from this that the Lord is to some extent depend¬ 
ent on man in revealing himself through human 
instrumentality. 

In the second chapter of Daniel, the Lord re¬ 
veals the future through a heathen king who 
saw in a dream the great shining image of a 
man. In the seventh chapter of Daniel the Lord 
reveals himself through his saintly servant 


114 Outline on Frophecy. 

Daniel who sees the governments of the future 
as ravenous beasts. The golden head in chapter 
two is represented in chapter seven as a devour¬ 
ing lion. Daniel himself gives the interpretation 
of this picture as representing the Chaldaic 
kingdom, which had its origin about 625 B. C. 
and fell in 536 B. C. 

In following the picture, Nebuchadnezzar sees 
on the man a breast of silver. For this breast of 
silver, Daniel sees, in chapter seven, a ravenous 
bear having bones of a man in his mouth. This 
represented the Medo-Persian kingdom which, 
in 536 B. C., under Cyrus, subdued the Chal¬ 
deans and became the great world power until 
the year 330 B. C. 

Nebuchadnezzar further sees a man with bra¬ 
zen thighs, while Daniel sees a leopard having 
four heads, representing the Grecian kingdom 
-which was later divided into four parts. The 
wings of the beast are without doubt indicative of 
the rapidity of the development of this kingdom. 

Alexander the Great subjugated the Medo- 
Persian kingdom in 330 B. C. Later the king¬ 
dom was divided among four of his generals, 
and continued to exist until 60 B. C. 

Finally, Nebuchadnezzar sees in his picture 
the legs and feet of this man to be partly of iron 
and partly of clay, the kingdom only seemingly 
strong, but lacking the necessary coherence. 
Clay and iron can not be mixed together. This, 


.'/ Jifi(-lilieion . 


115 


at all events, has reference to the social con¬ 
ditions of our day. The world powers no 
longer feel secure. Instead of these legs, Dan¬ 
iel sees in his picture so terrible a beast that 
the Bible has no name for it. Daniel says that 
this fourth beast was exceedingly dreadful and 
indeed powerful, having teeth of iron and crush¬ 
ing with its feet what it could not devour—he 
sees the beast with seven heads and three horns. 
The interpretation of Daniel shows clearly that 
the Roman empire is represented by this terri¬ 
ble picture. That empire became a world power 
about 60 B. C. It ruled over all the world as 
no kingdom before it. The seven heads, with¬ 
out doubt, have reference to the seven different 
administrations of this kingdom. The ten horns 
indicate the same as the ten toes of the two feet, 
having reference to the form of the government 
in the kingdom of Antichrist. Ten kings shall 
reign under the sovereignty of Antichrist. 

After this, Daniel in both pictures sees the 
end approaching. The Roman empire which 
later was divided into an eastern and western 
kingdom, is at the present time represented by 
twenty three states; namely, seven of the east¬ 
ern and sixteen of the western kingdom. Bax¬ 
ter, who is well versed in general history, is of 
the opinion that through a general European 
war which is now impending, the old Roman em¬ 
pire shall be divided into ten states or kingdoms. 


116 Outline on Prophecy- 

He further brings historical proof to show 
that the house of Napoleon descended from the 
royal family of ancient Macedonia, and conse¬ 
quently believes that Antichrist will be a de¬ 
scendant of the house of Napoleon. We will 
keep close to the Scriptures in which it is re¬ 
vealed to us that Antichrist will be a statesman 
from what was once the Roman Empire; of what 
house that person shall be is of less conse¬ 
quence. 

In the second chapter, Daniel sees a stone 
rolling from a mountain, dashing against the 
feet of the image and breaking it to pieces. 
The stone then became a mountain which filled 
the whole earth. This indicates to us, first, that 
the Son of God, of whom the stone is a type, 
shall be the ruler of a kingdom which shall 
cover the whole world; second, that this shall 
take place at the time of the down-fall of the 
states which formerly constituted the Roman 
Empire, because the stone dashes against the 
feet of the image. 

In chapter seven, he sees a more advanced stage 
of development, beholding a horn which is a 
type of false religion, usurping even worldly 
power. Of this we shall treat more fully in the 
next chapter (Rev. 13). 

Even here, however, Daniel sees the whole 
matter coming to a conclusion. He beholds the 
Ancient of days sitting on a throne which was 


Antichrist’s Beilin, 


117 


flaming with fire. He sees the books opened 
and Antichrist judged; also, thousand thousands 
ministering unto him, and one like the Son of 
man coming with the clouds of heaven, and ob¬ 
taining dominion over all the kingdoms of this 
world. He concludes this glorious prophecy 
with these words: “And the kingdom and do¬ 
minion and the greatness of the kingdom under 
the whole heaven shall be given to the people 
of the saints of the Most High. ” 

We will now give our attention to a few other 
revelations found in the New Testament con¬ 
cerning the kingdom of Antichrist. In Revela¬ 
tion six, we have four horsemen on their differ¬ 
ent horses. First, we have the horseman on the 
white horse—a symbol of victorious truth. 
This must refer to a period shortly before the 
development of the kingdom of Antichrist. At 
any event, we have many reasons forUthankful¬ 
ness toward God that we live yet in this period 
which extends from the time of the re formation 
to the beginning of Antichrist’s kin gdom. This 
horseman on the white horse is foil owed by the 
second one on a red horse, which can signify 
only war and shedding of blood. It is obvious 
that the kingdom of Antichrist can not obtain 
dominion over all the worldly powers, and he 
can nob maintain himself on his throne except 
by much blood-shedding. The beast also on 
which the harlot comes is described as a scar 


118 


Outline on Prophecy. 


let-colored beast, because throughout the reign 
of Antichrist, blood shall be shed in streams: 
first, indeed, the blood of those who will refuse 
to do homage to Antichrist; and second, the 
blood of those who do not accept the sign of the 
beast. Again, but now for the last time, the 
blood of martyrs shall flow as never before. As 
in the French Revolution, the attempt was made 
to exterminate everything divine, and the guil¬ 
lotine was engaged day and night, so and much 
more terrible shall be the rule of Antichrist. 

In the book of Esther, already, w^e have a type 
of this diabolic person in Haman, who was the 
highest in rank in the kingdom of Ahasuerus. 
He demanded divine adoration, and when Mor- 
decai refused to do him reverence, Haman would 
not be contented with less than the extermin¬ 
ation of all the Jews. To exterminate the people 
of the Lord is the aim of Antichrist. He shall 
sit in the temple of God claiming divine author¬ 
ity (2 Thess. 2: 4), and all who refuse to ac¬ 
knowledge him as God, shall be destroyed. 
What the consequence of so bloody a reign shall 
be, is indicated by the third horse following 
hard after the second. It is black, and the 
horseman holds a pair of scales in his hand—a 
picture of famine which is sure to follow when 
almost the whole world is under arms, a few 
only remaining to till the ground, and the little 
that may be at hand is destroyed by war. This 


AnticlKvisfs Ilei^n- 


119 


is followed by the fourth horse, pale in appear¬ 
ance, and the name of him who sat on it was 
Death, and Hell followed with him. The Devil 
begins to reap the harvest from the rule of him 
whom he has sent into the world—so great a 
harvest as he never had before. 

The last two horsemen make their appearance 
toward the close of Antichrist’s reign, which as 
we may assume from prophecies and types, 
shall not continue over seven years. The king¬ 
dom of Antichrist rises from conditions in which 
humanity according to the flesh is brought to 
its highest development, and no thought is 
taken of the necessity of divine life in the soul. 
It is obvious that in this kingdom the flesh shall 
see the fulfillment of all its desires. 

The horseman on the black horse had instruc* 
tion not to hurt the oil and wine. Even if fam¬ 
ine will reign on all the earth, there will be 
no want of strong drink; the liquor business 
will flourish, and drunkenness and ruin will be 
found everywhere. 

Among the well-to-do classes gluttony and 
drunkenness shall abound as never before, and 
lewdness shall take the upper hand in such a 
measure that matrimonial life shall be made 
light of. And when we notice in our day the 
manner of living among all classes of society, 
and the prevailing immoderate longing after 
enjoyments, we must come to the conclusion 


IW Outline on Prophecy. 

that the spirit of Antichrist’s kingdom is al¬ 
ready manifested. Hundreds of thousands of 
men sink down yearly into the grave from the 
effects of alcohol. From a reliable source we 
learn that in New York and Chicago, one hun¬ 
dred and fifty girls sink into an unknown grave 
every month, having ruined themselves through 
unchastity, and taking an end which is generally 
followed by a secret burial. In Philadelphia 
and Denver there are said to be seventy-five 
every month. How many hundreds who in the 
flower of youth change time for eternity every 
year in such manner! There are said to be forty 
thousand in Chicago alone who lead a life of 
shame, and hundreds live together like mar¬ 
ried people who have not formed any other union 
than one of the flesh. And who could describe 
the misery which is caused along this line in 
the great stores and factories. We refer to this 
only to give an idea of the condition of things 
under Antichrist’s reign, and what in truth the 
masses of those who are carnally minded are 
looking for. When we look into the condition 
of things as they are to-day, and notice how al¬ 
ready the red horse is following the white one, 
the conviction will necessarily intrude upon us 
that the evening is at hand, and we pray ear¬ 
nestly, “Come quickly, Lord Jesus. ” 

In 2 Thess. 2: 6, the apostle says that they 
know for what cause Antichrist can not yet 


Antichrisfs Reign. 121 

establish his kingdom. Rev. 7: 1-3 gives us a 
more detailed statement of what it is that pre¬ 
vents the enemy from establishing his reign. 
The apostle sees the angels standing on the four 
corners of the earth and hears the conmiand to 
them to hold the four winds that they should 
not blow on the earth until the servants of God 
may be sealed. It is the Holy Ghost who keeps 
him back, in order that the bride of Christ may 
be more fully prepared to meet the Bridegroom. 

Before the actual reign of Antichrist can be¬ 
gin, the believers shall be caught up to meet 
the Lord in the clouds of heaven; as soon as this 
“salt of the earth” shall be taken away. Anti¬ 
christ shall be able to enter upon his reign in 
full sway. When we look upon the signs which 
the Lord has given us as indicating his coming 
to be at hand, we must believe that the time is 
here, the prophecies are fulfilled and we are now 
in the period referred to in Matt. 25: 5. Sud¬ 
denly, indeed, the cry shall be heard and the 
Bridegroom shall come. 


CHAPTER X. 

The Harlot, or the Beast With 
two Horns. 

(Revelation 13: 11-18; 17: 1-6.) 

11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the 
earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake 
as a dragon, 

12 And he exerclseth all the power of the first beast 
before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell 
therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound 
was healed. 

13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire 
come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, 

14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the 
means of those miracles which be had power to do in the 
sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, 
that they should make an imnge to the beast, which had 
the wound by a sword, and did live. 

15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the 
beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and 
cause that as many as would not worship the image of 
the beast should be killed. 

16 And he caused all, both small and great, rich and 
poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right 
hand, or in their foreheads: 


The Havlof or the Beast. 


123 


17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had 
the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his 
nqme. 

18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding 
count the number of the beast: f.)r it is the number of a 
man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six. 

1 And there came one of the seven angels which had 
the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, 
Come hither; I will show unto thee the judgment of the 
great whore that sitteth upon many waters: 

, 2 With whom the kings of the f-arth have committed 

fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been 
made drunk with the wine of her fornication, 

3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilder¬ 
ness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured 
beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads 
and ten horns. 

4 And the woman was arrajed in purple and scarlet 
• colour, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and 
pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abomina¬ 
tions and filthiness of her fornication: 

5 And upon her forehead was a name written, MYS¬ 
TERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OP 
HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. 

6 And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the 
saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and 
when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration. 

Continuing the development of Antichrist and 
his kingdom,!we notice that he accomplishes his 
purpose with the assistance of certain accom¬ 
plices. Antichrist himself according to proph- 
►ecy will be a statesman who will care little for 
religion; his principal accomplices, however, are 
„the representatives of large religious bodies. 


12Jf Outline on Frophecij. 

At all times religion, may it be ever so far from 
the truth, has exercised the greatest power over 
mankind. It seems indeed impossible to find a 
nation which ignores religion entirely. In An¬ 
tichrist’s kingdom a counterfeit religion shall, 
through the influence of its representatives, be 
the principal means of establishing his author¬ 
ity. This religion is in the above Scripture 
passages represented by two types; viz., that of 
the beast and that of the harlot. We believe 
that particularly by the two horns of the beast, 
two religious strongholds are typified. The two 
beasts of Rev. 13 are the representatives of two 
religious bodies. 

The first beast is described as having received 
a deadly wound and yet having been healed. It 
is believed by Baxter and other interpreters 
that this has reference to the house of Napoleon,, 
since this house lost its prestige and does no 
longer play a part in the history of the world. 
These interpreters believe that in the last days 
a Napoleon shall again come into power and 
that through him the kingdom of Antichrist 
shall be established. 

We have in the second beast an associate of 
the first one, which uses its power to make peo¬ 
ple bow down and worship the latter. The ap¬ 
pearance of both beasts is very different: the* 
first one has seven heads and ten horns; the 
second, only one head and two horns. The first 


The Harlot or the Beast 125 


beast came out of the sea; the second, out of the 
earth. Daniel, chapter seven, gives explanation 
concerning the beasts—four in number—which 
came up from the sea. The sea is a type of the 
nations of the earth, from which these great 
princes shall come. The second beast comes 
out of the earth; i. e., out of an earthly minded 
worldly religion and has its power from the in¬ 
fernal world. The horns are symbols of power, 
and we believe to have every reason to take 
them as types of the Mohammedan religion and 
the popish power. 

We wish at all events to be rightly under¬ 
stood. We mean by the popish power not 
only Catholicism, but believe it to include 
Protestants who fail to put their hope in the 
blood of Christ alone. Nothing is found in the 
Bible to lead to the conclusion that the Lord 
divides people according to their religious opin¬ 
ions. Mere membership in some sect does not 
count for anything before him but the blood of 
his Son alone. Those only, who put their trust 
alone in the redemption through Jesus Christ, 
regardless of the church connection they may 
hold, shall not belong to the second horn. All 
those in nominal Christendom who make light 
of the power of the blood of Christ are typically 
represented by one of these horns. 

We readily believe that the papacy shall 
be the predominant factor of apostate Christen- 


126 Outline on Pnoplieey. 

dom. The Scriptures, however, do not give us 
particulars concerning this. Both papacy and 
Islam do no longer represent the political 
power which they once exercised; both, however, 
put forth all possible effort to regain their form¬ 
er strength, and even if they individually should 
not again be successful in the attempt to de¬ 
stroy their antagonists with the sword, they will 
at any rate play an important part in Anti¬ 
christ’s kingdom. Rev. 13: 12, it is said that 
the second beast shall exercise all the power of 
the first beast and shall accomplish its purpose 
to make all those which dwell upon the earth 
worship the first beast. Verse 14 shows us 
clearly by what means the second beast shall 
cause mankind to do homage to the first beast. 
This verse also indicates that the second beast 
shall erect an image to the first one. We are 
here reminded of the times when kings erected 
their own images and made their worship com¬ 
pulsory by law. This sort of thing shall again 
be found in the kiugdom of Antichrist. Satan 
shall display a power as never before in his¬ 
tory, and even his representatives shall do signs 
and wonders. By these miracles even such 
shall be deceived who have been lovers of the 
truth and have endeavored to do right. The 
Scriptures say that if possible even God’s elect 
shall be deceived and God shall be compelled 
to shorten the days for their sake. 


The Harlot or the Beast. 


127 


The power of working miracles shall reach 
such a degree that even the image which has 
been set up for the beast shall begin to speak in 
intelligible language and do signs and wonders. 
Only those who are filled with the Holy Ghost 
shall find themselves able to shake off the im¬ 
pression caused by those miracles. Almost as 
one man shall the nations do homage to the im¬ 
age. The Jews only shall as a nation hold back. 
Verses 16 and 17 tell of a new development of 
the power of Antichrist’s kingdom, being accom¬ 
plished by the aid of the second beast. We read 
here of a mark which every one belonging to 
this kingdom shall receive, either on the fore¬ 
head or on the hand. No one who does not bear 
this mark shall be permitted to buy or sell. 
This has reference not only to the farmer and 
the products of the soil, but the expression con- 
Y&ys the idea that no one can carry on commerce 
or engage in any trade outside the union of 
those who bear this mark. The business men 
may bear the mark on the forehead, the trades¬ 
man on the hand. We believe that the many 
organizations of the working classes of our day 
are indicative of the nearness of that period; 
only one step more from the present state of 
things is necessary for the full development of 
what is here portrayed to us. How many a man 
who is the head of a family, would be glad to 
work but this is made impossible to him by the 


m 


Outline on Prophecy. 


order of the union to which he belongs. He who, 
notwithstanding, will work without belonging to 
the union, is in danger of death. In the world of 
commerce also such unions become very prom¬ 
inent and there are many instances where only 
he can buy or sell who accepts the conditions of 
the union, may these conditions be ever so con¬ 
trary to the spirit of Christ. The only alterna¬ 
tive left to those who will not accept the mark, 
is to quit the business. The question is often 
asked what is yet left of the much boasted of 
liberty of our country. There is a coercion pre¬ 
vailing which can hardly be found in one of the 
monarchies of the old world, even a day laborer 
can no longer exercise his free will to work 
when he may choose. 

This shall be the condition of things in Anti¬ 
christ’s kingdom. Liberty will be preached and 
professed and all divine order shall be cast over 
board; in truth, however, mankind shall be in 
fetters as never before. At the end of this 
chapter (Rev. 13), we have the mystical number 
or mark of Antichrist himself; it is the well 
known number 666. Many interpreters of 
prophecy have tried in vain to ascertain the 
meaning of this number. We shall not make an 
attempt to interpret the same, but will give one 
idea concerning it which the reader may com¬ 
pare with other Scripture passages on this sub¬ 
ject. The Revelation is that book of the Bible 


The Harlot or the Beast> 129 


in which numbers are often used with a spirit¬ 
ual signification; without doubt these three sixes 
also have an important spiritual significance. 
Three is the divine number, four the human 
number, both taken together make the holy 
seven; i. e., the divine and the human united into 
holy perfection. Six is the number of human per¬ 
fection, lacking one to make the number seven. 
It is the number of the highest human develop¬ 
ment without God. That this number is used 
three times may indicate three aspects of human 
development. 

If we first of all give attention to the develop¬ 
ment in the line of science and education, wo 
find an unprecedented stage of development 
from the common public school up to the high¬ 
est institutions of human learning. All the 
world is longing for education; only little atten¬ 
tion, however, is given to the “wisdom from 
above.” The second six may have reference to 
the world of commerce. Never before had com¬ 
mercial intercourse at large reached the devel¬ 
opment to which it has attained to-day. Busi¬ 
ness is transacted on so large a scale that our 
fathers would not have dreamed of its possibil¬ 
ity. The reason generally given why so few 
men who have passed the prime of life are in 
business, is because they find themselves no 
longer able to cope with the most recent busi¬ 
ness methods. The third six would appear to 


ISO Outline on Pi^opJiecy- 

have reference to manufactural enterprises. 
When we see the progress made in the last cen¬ 
tury in this field, we are astonished and ask our¬ 
selves whether it can be that such a development 
could be accomplished in so short a time. In 
this field particularly, the last hundred years 
show greater progress than the five thousand 
years preceding them. 

These developments indicate truly that the 
end is near and show us that with accelerated 
steps we hasten on toward the goal. Observ¬ 
ing the tender green corn lately sprung up, we 
see that it grows by little and little and for a 
long time keeps its green color. As soon, how¬ 
ever, as the stage of ripening begins, only a few 
days longer will see the golden grain waving, 
and the farmer can use his sickle for the gather¬ 
ing of the harvest. Even so it will be in the 
harvest of this world. It has developed slowly 
since the time of creation, but now in the time 
of the ripening of the grain the development 
has entered upon its last short stage. 

As already said in the beginning of this chap¬ 
ter, the beast with the two horns and the harlot 
are typical of the same person. Chapter 17 has 
reference principally to the spiritual fornication 
of a false religion, while in chapter 13 the 
power of the same is typified by horns. In 
chapter 17: 1, it is said that the harlot “sitteth 
upon many waters”; i. e., she will draw many 


The Harlot or the Beast, 131 


nations into her nets. Verse 2 shows us that 
kings of the earth also had been made drunk 
with the wine of her unchastity, even as the 
common people. In verse 3, the seer beholds 
the harlot sitting on the beast. In chapter 13, 
we have seen that the harlot makes it her busi¬ 
ness to induce people to do homage to and wor¬ 
ship the first beast. Antichrist. We see here 
selfishness manifested, the leaders in the cause 
of a counterfit religion endeavoring even to * ‘sit 
on” or take all possible advantage of the govern¬ 
ment of Antichrist. At all times the Roman 
hierarchy laid claim to an authority which 
placed it above the governments of the different 
nations; and on the whole, we see priesthood 
trying to rule in all countries, which certainly 
would do no harm if the right spirit would gov¬ 
ern the priesthood. 

Verse four contains a wonderful revelation. 
In the first place we notice the attire of the 
woman, which is said to have been of purple and 
scarlet color. Purple, the royal color, indicates 
royalty, which this woman has usurped, endeav¬ 
oring to array herself in it. The other color, 
scarlet, represents, without doubt, the bloody 
character of the work of this woman. Verse 
six states that she is drunken with the blood of 
the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs, 
the prophets and wfitnesses of the Lord. Even 
if Antichrist, represented as the bloody beast, 


132 Outline on Prophecy. 

shall principally do the satanic work of slaying 
the saints, nevertheless the woman bears the 
responsibility for it, being the instigator of the 
same. 

This prophecy has not only reference to a 
period which is yet in the future and is to come 
to pass in the last time. As among the self- 
righteous Pharisees, the blood of the holy proph¬ 
ets was found, so in most of the persecutions of 
the disciples of Jesus Christ, it was a worldly 
church which caused them. We read further in 
this verse that the harlot is adorned with gold 
and precious stones and holds a golden cup in 
her hand; the cup, however, is not filled with 
pure wine but with the poison of fornication. 
The golden cup is the Word of God which she 
uses and abuses as the authority for her religion. 
Instead of making use of its truth an I power, 
she uses it only as a cloak for the covering of 
the most abominable sins. 

Yet we see, in the course of this chapter, that 
the end will come even to this woman. The 
beast, upon which she sat, succeeded in getting 
her under its feet; in this manner the harlot 
meets a horrible end. This is the reward of her 
sins which she shall receive; and, according to 
Rev. 19, she is the false prophet who shall be 
cast into eternal punishment. 

Antichrist, in order to win the people, shall 
at first tolerate a false religion. According to 


The Harlot or the Beast, 


133 


1 John 2, he shall at first only deny the Son; but 
having attained to his full power, he shall also 
deny the Father, and shall trample under his 
feet everything that is called religious, so that 
there may be no longer any kind of a restraint 
left. Men shall live to fulfill their own lusts 
without being ever reproved by the voice of con¬ 
science. Even if the harlot represents a false 
religion, she upholds certain bounds within 
which men are to keep themselves, although she 
conceals within her all sins and abominations. 
The final object of the kingdom of Antichrist, 
however, is to have men break loose from all 
moral order which may yet be left of the old time 
religion. 


CHAPTER XL 


The Fail of Antichrist and his Doom. 

(Rev. 19: 11-21; Ezek. 39: 17-20.) 

11 And I saw heaven opened, and beheld a white 
horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and 
True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. 

12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head 
were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no 
man knew, but he himself. 

13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood, 
and his name is called The Word of God. 

14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him: 
upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. 

12 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that 
with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule 
them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress 
of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 

16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name 
written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. 

17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he 
cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly 
in the midst of heaven. Come and gather yourselves 
together unto the supper of the great God; 

18 That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of 
captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of 


The Fall of Aiitichi'isf. 185 

horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all 
men, both free and bond, both small and great. 

19 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and 
their armies, gathered together to make war against him 
that sat on the horse, and against his army. 

20 And the beast was taken, and with him the falsa 
prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which 
he deceived them that had received the mark of the 
beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both 
were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. 

21 And the remnant were slain with the sword of him 
that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of 
his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh. 

17 And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord God; 
Speak unto every feathered fowl, and to every beast of 
the field. Assemble yourselves, and come; gather your¬ 
selves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice 
for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of 
Israel, that ye may eat flesh, and drink blood. 

18 Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the 
blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and 
of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan. 

19 And ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood 
till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice which I have sacri¬ 
ficed for you. 

20 Thus ye shall be filled at my table with horses and 
chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war, 
saith tbe Lord God. 

We have in the preceding chapters touched 
upon a few points in regard to the kingdom of 
Antichrist. The frightfulness of that reign is 
not d-scribable; it will be the development and 
consummation of all evil. 

But to this time of terror also the Lord will 


1S6 Outline on Prophecy. 

command a halt. When the measure is full and 
those who have remained hardened towar i the 
truth have become ripe for judgment then the 
divine Victor will again take the reins into his 
own hands. 

The apostle Paul says, 2 Thess. 2: 8, that the 
Lord shall destroy him with the spirit of his 
mouth. Before Antichrist shall fully enter upon 
his reign, the saints, who are waiting for the 
coming of the Lord, shall meet Him in the clouds, 
and having been changed, shall be invested with 
their divine offices, while the church, which has 
become more and more worldly, shall make com¬ 
mon cause with the kingdom of Antichrist. Two 
classes shall remain who shall refuse to ac¬ 
knowledge the lordship of Antichrist. In the 
first place there will be those who, although hav¬ 
ing made a profession of Christianity, have no 
oil in their lamps when the Bridegroom comes. 
They will, however, by unmistakable manifesta¬ 
tions of the hand of God, be thoroughly awak¬ 
ened and shall in that time of tribulation be 
converted to God, and having stood through all 
persecution as witnesses to the truth, shall die 
as martyrs. This may be the time when the 
prophecy of Rev. 12 shall be fulfilled. We be¬ 
lieve that this picture of the woman in travail, 
giving birth to a son, has a tvrofold signification. 
The meaning is first that Israel was the woman 
and Jesus the Son, who was caught up unto 



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The Fall of Ajitichrist, 1S7 

God after his death and resurrection; Israel fled 
from the Holy Land into the wilderness where 
to this day they are persecuted by Satan, and it 
is indeed a miracle that they have not been fully 
swallowed up, but the earth opened her mouth 
and swallowed up the flood and so helped the 
woman. The principal signification, however, 
of this picture refers to an occurence which is 
yet in the future. The woman, representing 
the church, shall be delivered of a son who is 
described as the bride of Christ. As soon as the 
birth and preparation cf this bride of Christ 
shall have become a fact she shall be caught up 
unto God. This is generally called the trans¬ 
lation of the believers. Thereafter the woman 
or the church which shall yet hold fast to 
the truth, shall be most cruelly persecuted by 
the dragon, and only such who succeed to hide 
themselves in the crevices of the rocks shall 
escape. Ahab’s wicked reign is a type of the 
reign of Antichrist; Elijah’s translation a type 
of the translation of believers; and the men of 
God who had been hidden a type of the per¬ 
secuted church. 

The other class which shall refuse to ac¬ 
knowledge the lordship of Antichrist are the 
Jews who at the time of his reign shall as a 
nation dwell in their own country—Palestine. As 
long, however, as Antichrist will deny Christ 
only, they shall be among his followers; yes, 


1S8 Outline on Pj^opkecy. 

shall even acknowledge him as the Messiah. 
Jesus himself says, John 5: 43, “I am come in my 
Father’s name, and ye receive me not: if 
another shall come in his own name, him ye will 
receive.” To this day the Jews wait for the 
Messiah and they shall live in that expectation 
until they shall be made ashamed by a deceiver. 
When Napoleon I. had the whole world at his 
feet, the Jews manifested much inclination 
toward him. Even prominent Jews believed to 
have found the Messiah in Napoleon. Prom 
Daniel, chapter seven, it is evident, although the 
thought may not be noticed on the surface, that 
the Jewish nation shall be allied with Anti¬ 
christ. As soon, however, as he shall declare 
himself to be God and shall reject all divine 
power beside himself, the Jews shall see that 
they have been deceived, and shall rebel against 
his dominion. In consequence of this the whole 
army of Antichrist shall move upon Jerusalem 
to punish the Jewish nation and bring them 
again under his dominion. A battle shall then 
ensue more fierce and bloody than the world has 
yet seen. Jerusalem is called the City of God, 
and at all times have all the enemies of God 
attempted to conquer and destroy it. No place 
on earth has witnessed so much bloodshedding 
as the vicinity of Jerusalem. If the destruction 
of Jerusalem under Titus was the most terrible 
judgment which ever came over the Jewish 


1S9 


The Fall of Antichrist, 

nation, the carnage of this last decisive battle 
shall be far more horrible. It will be such a 
slaughter of nations that numbers do not seem 
to be sufficient to convey a correct idea concern¬ 
ing it. It is the great day of battle of the Lord 
in which he will bring judgment on those who 
have rebelled against him. The formidableness 
of it is intimated by the stream of blood which 
the seer beholds. The blood shall flow that it 
will in valleys reach the bridles of the horses. 
This terrible stream shall, according to Rev. 14: 
18-20, have a length of one hundred fifty miles 
and shall extend over the borders of the land. 
Considering the length of this stream of blood, 
we can conceive why it is that the mass of those 
fallen in this battle is not indicated by numbers. 

The question may be raised how it is possible 
that a few millions of Jews could destroy mill¬ 
ions upon millions, and the short answer is this: 
The Lord will be with them because the time of 
the Gentiles has been fulfilled. Zechariah 12: 
3, it is said that Jerusalem shall at that time be 
a burdensome stone for all people; they shall 
perish in the attempt to lift the same, being 
never able to remove it. It is often the case that 
stones which are partly under the surface of 
the ground are heavier than one would suppose 
and many have suffered loss from the attempt 
to lift them. 

It is further evident that a confusion in the 


140 Outline on Prophecy, 


army of Antichrist itself shall do much toward 
making this slaughter so frightful. (Zech. 12: 
4; 14: 15; Ezek. 38: 21.) At different instances 
the Lord came to the rescue of his people by 
confounding their enemies. In the valley of 
Berachah, where under Jehoshaphat the enemies 
fell upon destroying themselves, Israel did not 
even lay hands on them. 

In this last decisive battle Israel will fight as 
never before; the princes of Israel shall be like 
a fire brand among the nations. He that is fee¬ 
ble among Israel at that day shall be as David, 
and the house of David shall be as God. (Zech. 
12: 6-9.) Notwithstanding this, we shall see later 
that the Jews shall suffer great loss in this battle 
and shall win the victory only when God comes 
to their rescue. 

To this terrible slaughter there shall more¬ 
over come a pestilence (Ezek. 38: 22; Zech. 14: 
12-15), and such a pestilence as has never been 
known before. Their flesh shall begin to cor¬ 
rupt while they are yet on their feet, and their 
eyes shall be destroyed by an awful disease. 
This pestilence shall rage among beasts as well 
as men. Some description of the frightful 
plagues which shall come upon Antichrist are 
contained in Revelation, chapters 8, 9 and 16. 
We readily believe that parts of the prophecies 
of these chapters have already been fulfilled, 


The Fall of Antichrist- IJfl 

while those parts referring to the most terrible 
plagues do yet wait for their fulfillment. 

Ezek. 39: 1-16, we have a description of the 
great victory over Antichrist. According to the 
words of the prophet, the citizens of Jerusalem 
shall gather enough wood from the camps of the 
enemy on the battle ground to supply them with 
fuel for seven years. The burying of the fallen 
shall require seven months; yea, the great mass 
of them shall never be buried. The Lord him¬ 
self shall call the fowls under heaven to come 
and devour the carcasses which may remain on 
the field, and closes with the stern sentence that 
the false prophet or the harlot and those who 
accepted the mark of the beast and Antichrist 
himself shall be cast into the lake of fire burn¬ 
ing with brimstone. (Rev. 19: 20.) 

This is the awful judgment which shall con¬ 
tinue through eternity for the enemies of God. 
It shows us how frightful shall be the end of 
those who make themselves believe that it is in 
their power to dethrone the Almighty God. 


CHAPTER XII. 


The Doctrine of the Second Coming of 
Christ in the New Testament. 

(Matthew 25: 1-13.) 

1 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto 
ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to 
meet the bridegroom. 

2 And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 

3 They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no. 
oil with them: 

4 But the wise took oil in their vessels with their 
lamps. 

5 While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered 
and slept. 

6 And at midnight there was a cry made. Behold, the 
bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. 

7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their 
lamps. 

8 And the foolish said unto the wise. Give us of your 
oil; for our lamps are gone out. 

9 But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be 
not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that 
sell, and buy for yourselves. 

10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; 
and they that were ready went in with him to the mar¬ 
riage: and the door was shut. 


Second Coining of Christ. I 4 S 

11 Afterward also came the other virgins, saying, 
Lord, Lord, open to us. 

12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, 

I know you not. 

13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor 
the hour wherein the Son of man cometh. 

The Holy Scriptures of the Old as well as the 
New Testament make frequent mention of the 
second coming of the Lord to the believers. We 
will in this chapter present only a few ideas 
which are revealed to us concerning the second 
coming of the Lord. In Matt. 24, Luke 21 and 
Mark 13, we have a threefold aspect of the 
future. The disciples called Jesus’ attention to 
the greatness of the temple after the Lord had 
predicted that the house of Israel should be left 
desolate. Thereupon he told them that the time 
should come when not a stone should be left 
upon another. This declaration is followed by 
the threefold question of the disciples. When 
shall this be fulfilled, when shall the second 
coming of the Lord take place, and, when the 
end of the world. This question, or, more cor¬ 
rectly, the reply to it, treats of three different 
periods and touches upon three great subjects; 
viz., the judgment over the Jewish nation cul¬ 
minating in the destruction of Jerusalem which 
should take place in the near future; secondly, 
the return or second coming of Christ, the time 
of which was indefinite to them; and finally, the 
end of the world. As the question was a three- 


1^4 Outline on Prophecy. 

fold one, the answer covers the three points of 
the question. Matt. 24 has reference for the 
most part to the destruction of Jerusalem; other 
parts refer to the time preceding the second 
coming of the Lord, and some portions to the 
end of the world or the last judgment. 

Since the destruction of Jerusalem and the 
judgment over the Jewish nation was not only 
the fulfillment of prophecy but also a type of 
what was yet in the future, some verses have 
reference both to judgment over the Jewish 
nation and the condition of the nations before 
his coming, for the Lord did not deem it neces¬ 
sary to keep these two subjects distinctively 
apart. His object was principally to enjoin upon 
us the importance of being prepared at any time. 

We will turn to other Scripture passages 
which will give more explanation on this sub¬ 
ject. In 1 Cor. 15: 22-26, we have a detailed 
statement of the events at the coming of the 
Lord and the end of the world. Paul begins 
with the words that as they all died in Adam, 
they shall all be made alive in Christ; i. e., as 
the first Adam has by disobedience brought 
death for all, so the second Adam by his obedi¬ 
ence has brought life for all. 

In this bringing of life, however, there is a 
divine order, as we find in the following verses. 
In accordance with the counsel of God, the first 
who could rise from the dead is Christ. Paul 


Second Coming of Christ. Ijf5 

here passes those which came out of their graves 
at the time of the resurrection of the Lord, and 
immediately mentions those that are Christ’s at 
his coming, saying that they shall arise when he 
shall come again. He then states further that 
all the dead shall rise at the end of the world, 
and that previous to this Christ must reign till 
he has put all his enemies under his feet. Even 
the last enemy, death, shall at last be abolished. 
He further shows us clearly that the end shall 
come at the time when Christ shall deliver up 
the kingdom to the Father. In different parts 
of the Holy Scriptures, particularly in Rev. 20, 
we find that the point of time when he shall 
deliver up the kingdom to the Father will be 
after the millennium and after the short period 
in which Satan shall again be loose, concerning 
which the Scriptures contain but very little rev¬ 
elation. From the clear and detailed statement 
of the above Scripture passage alone, it is evi¬ 
dent that the coming of the Lord and the end 
are two different subjects and do not belong 
together. 

In the words of prophecy of Zacharias at the 
time of the birth of John (Luke 1: 67-75), there 
are found promises concerning Jesus and his 
work, which have not yet been fulfilled. In 
verse 71, Zacharias says that this horn of salva¬ 
tion in the house of David shall save them from 
all their enemies; yet, until to-day, we have seen 


146 Outline on Prophecy. 

the contrary; Israel has rather been bound than 
made free. In verse 74, he says of this 
Redeemer that the promise given to Abraham 
shall be fulfilled by him and that they shall serve 
him. What the Holy Ghost has spoken through 
his servant shall certainly be carried out, and 
shall when the time has come, be fulfilled in a 
glory which shall surpass all expectation. 

In John 14: 3, the Lord speaks to his disci¬ 
ples concerning his departure, and he promises 
that the separation shall not be permanent, but 
that he will go before to make preparation for 
them, and that he shall come again and take his 
own unto himself. If he had said that they 
should follow him soon, he would have spoken 
of the natural death of the believers; since he, 
however, says that he himself shall come again, 
this must have reference to his second coming to 
the believers. 

Acts 3: 20, 21, we find the conclusion of the 
first sermon held after Pentecost. In verse 19, 
Peter admonishes the Jews to repent that their 
sins may be blotted out; then forthwith he 
declares to them that a time of restitution shall 
come when the Father shall again send Jesus 
whom he had preached to them. Verse 31, 
Peter says that the heavens must receive this 
Son of God until the time when all shall be ful¬ 
filled that has been spoken through the mouth 
of the prophets. These passages also are so 


Second Coining of Christ. IJfl 

clear that they can not be spiritualized and can 
not be interpreted as having reference to a bless¬ 
ing for a few only, for the subject of the apostle 
is the great general blessing for the people of 
God through the second coming of Christ. 

Hebrews 9: 28, the apostle says that Christ was 
offered once to take away the sins of many, but 
that he shall for the second time appear with¬ 
out sin for them who wait for him. This then 
is not his coming for the general judgment, but 
a coming for his own and more particularly for 
such of his own who love his appearing and 
wait for him. 

Romans 8: 18-23, we read of a longing man¬ 
ifesting itself not only in the children of God 
but even in the whole creation. The creature 
was against its will subjected to the service of 
sin. The fall of Adam has brought them also 
under that yoke. For nearly 6,000 years, cre¬ 
ation has been languishing under this wretched 
service of sin and is longing for deliverance.. 
Not among mankind only is enmity and even 
murdering prevalent, but harmony and peace is; 
disturbed in the animal world also, and rapa- 
ciousness has taken their place, the stronger 
dilacerating and destroying that which is. 
weaker. Since this is not the original and 
divinely intended condition of things, there is 
even in the irrational creature an unconscious 
longing for the rest and peace of their first 


Ijf8 Outline on Frophecy. 

estate. This longing shall in the millennial 
reign be fully assuaged. 

If we give this subject some consideration and 
notice how the creature is misused and tor¬ 
mented by man who ought to be its protector, 
and how dumb creatures injure and devour 
each other and how man and beast consume one 
another, we are constrained to say with the 
apostle that we are, with creation, longing for 
the liberty of the sons of God in the millennium. 
How glorious it must be when the creature shall 
be fully delivered from the bondage, and shall 
with the children of God enjoy the blessing of 
Calvary. 

Luke 21: 34-36, we have the words of the 
Son of God himself, as he concludes his reply 
to their threefold question with an earnest ad¬ 
monition to his own to be ready for the import¬ 
ant hour when he, their Lord and Master, will 
appear in the clouds of heaven. To be in read¬ 
iness was considered by the Lord to be of the 
utmost importance, and this must be the most 
important thing to me also. If he has, concern¬ 
ing his return, given a mere survey, he gives 
here minute instruction as to what is necessary 
on their part that they might be of those w^ho 
wait for their Lord. Verse 34, he exhorts them 
to take heed lest their hearts be overcharged 
with surfeiting and drunkenness. 

When we see from the parable of the ten vir- 


Second Coining of Christ. 149 

gins that they all slumbered and slept, and 
experience also teaches how great the danger is 
of our minds being occupied with that which is 
earthly, we would pray the Holy Spirit to write 
in each heart the words, “Watch, and again I 
say unto you, watch.” 

It is as sad as it is true that among believers 
only few are found who continue in earnest 
prayer that Jesus may soon come again; yes, 
only a few who do really desire it. The great 
majority of Christians, if they speak candidly, 
must confess that they would rather have him 
delay longer. In the parable it is stated that 
the bridegroom tarried, he did not come at the 
hour when he was expected to come. Luke 21: 
35, w’e read that that day shall come as a snare. 
A snare is generally cast after the victim has 
passed him who casts it, and does not believe 
that there is any danger. So it shall be at the 
coming of the Son of man. According to pro¬ 
phetic calculation, one could say the time is at 
hand; but since Christendom is not active 
enough, the Lord tarries and we know not how 
long the tarrying shall continue. We have no 
other advice but this which the Lord himself 
gives when he says in verse 36, that we shall 
watch and pray always that we may be 
accounted worthy to escape all the fearful 
things which shall come and to stand before the 
Son of man. 


CHAPTER XIII. 


Signs Preceding the Second Coming 
of the Lord. 

In Matt. 24, Jesus, in speaking of the end of 
the world, gives as one of the signs of its ap¬ 
proach, that “there shall arise false christs.” 
Though there have arisen impostors in other 
ages who have taken to themselves divine hon¬ 
ors, yet in no age was the world so cursed with 
this sort of profanity as at present, when we do 
not have to leave the shores of our own enlight¬ 
ened nation to-day to encounter three blasphem¬ 
ous impostors, all of whom style themselves 
“the Christ of God.” This is no unimportant 
fact to students of “the signs of the times.” 

EARTHQUAKES. 

As one of the material signs of the end of this 
age, Jesus said: “There shall be earthquakes in 
divers places.” The omniscient Jesus was well 
aware of the fact that there had been earth¬ 
quakes in the past, and that there should be 



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Signs Preceding His Com ing. 151 

earthquakes in the middle ages; in fact, that 
there always had and always would be earth¬ 
quakes. Yet he, who never made a mistake or 
uttered an idle word, gave as one of the cor¬ 
poreal signs of his second advent that there 
should be ‘ ‘earthquakes in divers places. ’ ’ Read 
the large dailies of the land and you will be sur¬ 
prised to find there is hardly a week that passes 
that there is not an account of an earthquake in 
some section of the globe. The late born seis¬ 
mologist with his wonderful seismograph, or 
instrument for ascertaining the exact time at 
which earthquakes occur, and the comparative 
violence of each shock, has developed some 
interesting facts in the past twenty-five years 
in reference to the strange agitations called 
earthquakes. But though much has been dis¬ 
covered, our knowledge but reveals to us our 
real ignorance as to any definite idea of the 
cause of this strange visitant. Among other 
facts discovered by the seismograph is the fact 
that there is no period of time when there are 
not earthquakes occurring at some part of the 
globe, and shocks capable of notice without an 
instrument, have been lately revealed to the 
number of fifty in one day. Of course our^ 
learned men try to settle the public agitation, 
that a knowledge of this fact would arouse, by 
the statement that it was doubtless always so, 
only in other ages we had no way of finding out 


152 Outline on Fropliecy. 

this fact. These wiseacres evidently believe 
this to be true, which gives us another example 
of how the ‘ wisdom of man is foolishness with 
God. ’ That “the wise might be taken in their 
own craftiness.” As it is written: “The wis¬ 
dom of God is wiser than men, and the weak¬ 
ness of God is stronger than men. ” 

We insert a few facts and figures here, how¬ 
ever, to offset the pernicious influence of this 
falsely so-called science. The total number of 
earthquakes mentioned by all the writers of 
the earth before the Christian era, is given at 
fifty-eight. Never until the past two centuries 
has Europe been harassed by these mundane 
convulsions. 

Again, the great increase in the number of 
these convulsions can be seen if we state the 
number which occurred in the t ifferent centu¬ 
ries. There were ten in the seventh century, 
eleven in the eighth, thirty-six in the ninth, 
seventeen in the tenth, fifty-seven in the 
eleventh, sixty-eight in the twelfth, fifty-five in 
the thirteenth, one liundred and ten in the six¬ 
teenth, one hundred in the seventeenth, six hun¬ 
dred and eighty in the eighteenth, nine hundred 
and twenty-four in the first half of the nine¬ 
teenth. There has hardly been a week lately 
that the large dailies have not recorded accounts 
of an earthquake at some part of the globe, and 
the seismologist declares that there is one tak- 


Signs Preceding His Coining. 153 

ing place some where every minute. Professor 
Milne declares that from the year 1843 to 1868 
there were over 17,000 earthquakes. No tongue 
or pen can fully describe the terror caused by 
these awful visitations and their accompanying 
phenomena, such as volcanic eruptions, inky 
ocean waves, thunderous roaring sounds, mon¬ 
ster tidal waves, and air waves. Volcanic erup¬ 
tions increase just in proportion with earth¬ 
quakes, as it is evident that the same cause pro¬ 
duces both. This old crippled earth which God 
said should “wax old as doth a garment,” needs 
the reconstructing hand of the Great Physician 
to heal her bowel troubles. The fearfulness of 
these scourges can be seen in the fact that the 
Lisbon earthquake shock, which commenced on 
the papist idolatrous festival of All-Saints day, 
Nov. 1, 1755, and lasted for over two years, 
destroyed 200,000 lives. It is also stated that in 
Peru and other lands in 1868, 100,000 persons 
perished, and in Java and its neighboring 
islands there were said to have perished 100,000 
more. In the absence of any reliable scientific 
definition of the cause of earthquakes, I feel like 
attributing them to the stamp of God’s indig¬ 
nant foot upon the earth that has rebelled 
against him. In the light of the foregoing facts, 
who dare assert that this earth is not drawing 
to her end? 


154 


Outline on Froplieey. 


FAMINES. 

In connection with the assertion that the prev¬ 
alence of earthquakes would be a sign of the 
nearness of his second coming, Jesus added 
these words as an additional sign: “There shall 
be famines and pestilences.” Few, indeed, are 
the nations of the earth which have not suffered 
more or less, in some respects, from famines or 
pestilences in late years. 

Like the earthquake, the plague, which is 
especially called in the Bible a judgment from 
God, is seen to become more baneful as the earth 
nears her end. We state a few facts concerning 
the later ones. In 1352, 900,000 persons died of 
starvation during a famine in China, and 60,000 
persons are said to have perished from like 
cause in Milan in 1427 and 1450. Nearly all 
Europe had famine from 1600 to 1603, and in Mus¬ 
covy 500,000 are said to have died, and one-tenth 
of the inhabitants of Finland also perished. In 
1740 and 1741 nearly 100,000 are said to have 
died of starvation and disease. In India in 1764, 
30,000,000 died. This is too awful to contem¬ 
plate. The dry breasts of mother earth refused 
nourishment to 85,000,000 of her children in 
India till 30,000,000 perished. Gaunt, hungry, 
famine sucking the very life blood from their 
veins with none to answer their impassioned 
appeals for bread. How much more awful is 
this than when the sharp steel blade severs the 


Signs Preceding His Coining. 155 

silver cord of life or the hissing bullet sings the 
soldier’s sudden requiem. But awful though 
this is, we fear that many now living will have 
a closer acquaintance with such terrors than 
contemplation bestows, unless there is a mighty 
turning from sin on the part of the nations gen¬ 
erally. Sixteen thousand died of starvation 
in Cape De Verde islands in 1775. One hundred 
thousand more died in India in 1788, when a uni¬ 
versal famine raged which threw China and 
Europe into awful distress. At different periods 
between 1814 and 1846 famines occurred in Ire¬ 
land which reduced her population 2,000,000. 
Again in 1866, nearly a million died in India 
from the effects of famine. In 1871, 3,000,000 
died from like cause in Persia. A fearful fam¬ 
ine prevailed in Bengal in 1873, of which we 
have no statistics. In 1877, though the East 
Indian government paid out $75,000,000 to feed 
her starving citizens, yet 6,000,000 died of star¬ 
vation. In 1877, Brazil lost nearly a million by 
a dreaded plague. Morocco and Corea suffered 
greatly from a like cause the same year, and 
North China lost 10,000,000 the next year, 1878. 

Have some of my readers deemed me pessimis¬ 
tic in my views, then let optimists disprove 
these figures and do away with the divine pre¬ 
dictions which they demonstrate. God says: ‘‘I 
have sent among you the pestilence,” Amos 4: 
10, and, ‘ ‘In the last days there shall be famines 


156 


Outline on Prophecy, 


in divers places.” Read the account of the 
“Black Death” in the fourteenth century, as it 
is described as bursting from the earth, a horri¬ 
ble vapor, deadly and offensive, and consuming 
all before it. Egypt, Syria, Turkey, Greece, 
Italy, Spain, France, Germany, England, Ire¬ 
land, Scotland, etc., all felt its dreadful ravages, 
winter and summer alike, for years. Dr. Noah 
Webster says it destroyed two-thirds of the 
human race in eight years. One author declares 
that a hundred million persons perished by It. 
From that time to the present, new and unheard 
of diseases and pestilences are constantly attack¬ 
ing and destroying thousands, both of man and 
beast. 

THE SUN. 

As a sign of his speedy coming, Christ said: 

‘ ‘And there shall be signs in the sun and in the 
moon and in the stars and upon the earth dis¬ 
tress of nations with perplexity; the sea with 
the waves thereof roaring. ”—Luke 21: 25. This 
prophecy is being literally fulfilled before our 
eyes. Let us consider some of the solar, lunar 
and stellar phenomena that are greatly perplex¬ 
ing our most advanced astronomers to-day. We 
mention first the “Dark Day,” as it ras been 
termed by eminent writers, when over an area 
of 320,000 square miles, and witnessed by 700,000 
people, a gloomy, supernatural darkness pre¬ 
vailed in Europe and New England on May 19, 


Signs Preceding His Coming. 157 

1780. This gloom lasted during the entire day 
and was followed by a night of as dense dark¬ 
ness as that which plagued Egypt. Of this 
supernatural darkness, which terrified thou¬ 
sands, and as one has said: “Crowded the 
churches of Europe with alarmed multitudes, 
supplicating the mercy of heaven.” Herschel, 
the astronomer, says: “The Dark Day in North¬ 
ern America was one of those wonderful phe¬ 
nomena in nature which will always be read 
with interest, but which philosophy is at a loss 
to explain.” Judge R. N. Davis says: “It was 
a wonderful dark day, standing almost, if not 
altogether alone, as the most mysterious and as 
yet unexplained phenomenon of its kind in 
Nature’s diversified events during the last cen¬ 
tury.” Noah Webster wrote of it: “I stood and 
viewed the phenomenon. No satisfactory cause 
has been asigned.” God has said, however, 
“The sun shall be darkened before the great 
and terrible day of the Lord come,” and, though 
this may not be the exact event referred to, yet 
it shows how easily God can “darken the sun.” 
This day was so dark and ominous that the leg¬ 
islature of Connecticut, then in session, ad¬ 
journed, being unable to transact business. 
The Connecticut Journal, May 22, 1780, said: 
“The greatest darkness was equal to what is 
common ly called candle lighting in the evening. 
The appearance was indeed uncommon and the 


158 Outline on Prophecy. 

cause unknown.” The reader will notice that it 
is nowhere said in God’s Word that the sun or 
moon will be destroyed or become extinct, but 
rather, it is said, they “withhold their light, 
and “are darkened,’' “appear as blood,” etc. 
The night following the dark day referred to, 
the moon, which had reached its full on the 
previous day, was as if extinct, and a darkness 
more intense than was ever before known set¬ 
tled over the land. 

The sun is scientifically stated as being a 
globe of tumultuous fiames 852,584 miles in diam¬ 
eter, its bulk being 1,253,000 times greater than 
the earth, and to effect the earth with a force 
316,000 times greater than the earth’s own force. 
It is also said to turn upon its own axis once in 
twenty-five days and to be composed of flaming 
gases and burning metals. By the aid of the 
spectroscope, astronomers discover red flames 
or tongues of fire protruding from the .solar 
orb, hundreds of thousands of miles into the 
gaseous atmosphere that surrounds him. If 
spots upon the face of this mighty ball had an 
existence, they surely had no history until the 
seventeenth century; but since then, they have 
been gazed at in dismay by thousands, and are 
made the careful study of the thoughtful. In 
1779, Sir William Herschel saw one 50,000 miles 
in diameter; nevertheless writes Mr. D. T. Tay¬ 
lor in “The Great Consummation,” “In all the 


Signs Frececling His Coin ing. 159 

eighteenth century no scientist expressed alarm 
for the sun’s fixity or safety. Not so to-day, 
* * * * It was from the year 1859 and on¬ 
ward that the spots commenced to attract won¬ 
dering attention, and astronomers began to 
behold the sun with awe and to express fears 
of its stability. ’ ’ In 1839, Capt. Davis saw one 
spot 187,000 miles in length, which was at that 
time the largest ever seen. 

“On September 1, 1859, two astronomers in 
England, at different stations, while watching 
sun spots, were startled to behold the facula on 
the spot edge instantly fiash into an unprec¬ 
edented and intense brilliancy, and in five min¬ 
utes to move over the sun’s disc, a distance of 
34,000 miles. Presto! Then a magnetic storm 
began on earth. The needle became powerfully 
excited, the Northern and Southern Auroras 
flashed with rare splendor, the telegraph wires 
were burdened with electricity, and the entire 
globe thrilled and throbbed under the influence 
of the strange energy. The sun was in commo- 
tion. Telegraph machinery was set on fire and 
burned out, and the pen of the instrument was 
followed by a flame, and its characters traced in 
fire. Men were astonished in all the realms of 
science. The instant motion, the explosion, the 
varying lights, the tumult in the sun, all sug¬ 
gested change! It was days before the mysteri¬ 
ous solar storm subsided; then the earth, which 


160 


Outline on Prophecy. 


hung so immediately in the sun’s grasp, lay 
quiet again. But the solar eruption was a new 
thing and a mystery to all. 

“In 1869 and 1870, the minimum period of 
spots having passed, the sun was again in ebul¬ 
lition and strewn with thick, dark spots. Hug¬ 
gins, of England, saw one spot move quickly 
over its face, a distance of 100,000 miles, in one 
second. A single spot was seen in May, 1870, 
having an area of 320,000,000 square miles. In 
October, one group of 200,000,000 square miles 
was observed to stretch across the solar disc, 
one-fourth of its diameter. In February, a 
group of spots seen by English observers had 
an area of 1,458,000,000 miles, and in September, 
Prof. Langley, in this country, witnessed at one 
time hundreds of spots, the area of but one of 
them being computed to be 2,000,000,000 square 
miles. In November, 1870, the Evening Post, 
of New York City, reported three contiguous 
spots, whose area was 8,649,000,000 square 
miles. The sun passed through remarkable 
changes: there were seen cyclones and black 
cavities upon it, all declared to be of unusual 
magnitude, with one spot a hundred times larger 
than the entire surface of our globe. The sun 
is changing and nature quivering in witness¬ 
ing for God. Prof. E. Colbert in The Western 
Monthly, August, 1870, in tones of alarm, wrote: 
‘The present year, though previously indicated 


Signs Preceding His Coming. 161 

as one of maximum, is marked by the appear¬ 
ance of an extraordinary number of spots, which 
have no parallel in number and magnitude 
within the space of a hundred years. ’ It is well 
known that the following year, 1871, was styled 
by Victor Hugo and others, ‘The black and ter¬ 
rible year. ’ ” 

It was a terrible year for our earth. The 
mighty fires of that year, fed by electric influ¬ 
ences, consumed the city of Chicago, at a loss 
of $180,000,000; took an $80,000,000 slice off 
Boston, and the great Western States had forest 
and prairie fires, hundreds of miles in extent, in 
which 2,500 persons are said to have perished 
and $100,000,000 worth of property to have been 
destroyed. Again, on February 4, 1872, a mar¬ 
velous Aurora was apparent, and electric influ¬ 
ences pervaded the atmosphere until all the tel¬ 
egraph lines of the earth were affected and the 
ocean cable could not be worked by battery. The 
needle in the compass became wild and useless, 
and to quote D. T. Taylor: “The mystic fires, 
which were all colors, shapes and hues, were now 
seen by men living in all parts of the earth.” 
Harper said: “Not only was this Aurora one of 
the most remarkable of recent years because of 
the wide extent of its visibility, but it seems to 
have been attended with electrical disturbances 
that are as yet unparalleled in the annals of 
c\ence for their intensity, if not for their dura- 


162 Outline on Prophecy, 

tion and geological extent.”—Magazine, June, 
1873. In June of the same year, the Italian 
astronomer, Tachini, beheld the entire face of 
the sun overspread with burning vapors of mag¬ 
nesium, a thing which had never been seen be¬ 
fore. Astronomers were startled in the years 
1869 and 1870 to behold a column of electric fire 
shooting out of the sun’s heated equatorial 
regions toward our earth, which advanced, re¬ 
ceded and advanced again in a threatening man¬ 
ner, as if it would lick up our globe. This enor¬ 
mous tongue reached farther and farther across 
the gulf of 92,000,000 miles which separated us 
from its fiery source. It seemed to impart a new 
and glowing light to every planet in the solar 
system. 

Astronomers Enis and Langley stated that 
this mysterious column extended ten to fourteen 
millions, and the latter thinks at times, in thin¬ 
ner form, thirty to forty millions of miles 
toward our earth. This column of supposed 
magnetic fire and the boiling coruscations of the 
solar orb, together with the increased number 
of monster sun spots and the apparent changes 
in its form, luster and extent, prove our sun to 
be but a perishable, variable star. The New 
York Sun, May 23, 1870, said: “The sun is be¬ 
ginning to be an object of great anxiety to many 
scientific men, the spots assuming of late an 
appearance which astonishes astronomers, and 


Signs Freceding His Coining, 163 

is calculated to alarm that class which fancies 
that it can detect portents of the future in the 
he:vvens. ” Can the people of God, with the 
prophecies of Christ and the apostles thus being 
turned into history before their eyes, remain 
unmoved by the sight? But there are infinite 
numbers of such phenomena lately. Prof. C. A. 
Young, at Hanover, N. H., witnessed the most 
astounding solar explosion ever recorded, Oct. 
7, 1880. He saw a burst of flaming hydrogen 
shoot up from the sun’s face to the height of 
60,000 miles at the speed of 300 miles per second, 
and at a little past noon it rose to an altitude of 
350,000 miles, when suddenly it disappeared. 
Immediately after, the earth was visibly affected 
by subtle magnetic influences. Langley saw on 
November 16, 1882 an enormous sun spot that 
covered 2,200,000,000 square miles, and the same 
awful sight was seen at Greenwich, England, 
and there calculated to cover 2,600,000,000 miles. 
But time and space would fail me to tell of the 
marvelous signs in the sun which lately be¬ 
wilder our leading scientists. But ere leaving 
this subject, let me state that it is beginning to 
be apparent that the ever-increasing number of 
earthquakes, cyclones, whirlwinds, water¬ 
spouts, hot winds, tidal waves, etc., have these 
solar disturbances for a main, if not the only 
cause of their existence. 


164 Outline on Prophecy, 


MOON. 

An officer in the United States army, writing 
to the Philadelphia Enquirer from Leaven¬ 
worth, March 20, 1893, said: “On the 14th of 
February we had the most remarkable phenom¬ 
enon I ever heard of. At 3, a. m. , the moon, 
which had been obscured by a cloud, burst forth 
a deep blood-red color with a black cross of 
equal proportions over its face.” Though Eng¬ 
lish scientists declare that “No law of refrac¬ 
tion can in any way explain this extraordinary 
phenomenon,” and Dr. Foster pronounces it 
“Wholly inexplicable by any law of natural phi¬ 
losophy,” yet, in the present century alone, the 
moon’s total eclipses, by her passages through 
the earth’s shadow, impart to her strange lurid 
colors which astonish the beholder. That of 
March 19, 1848, is described by Mr. Walker as 
resembling “the glowing, red heat of a furnace, 
or a deep red”; that of February 27, 1848, is 
described by astronomers as being of “a reddish 
brown”; that of June 1, 1863, is said by Mr. 
Olaisher, of Greenwich, to look “like fire 
smoldering into ashes.” We concur fully in the 
assertion of the commentators, Fausett and 
Brown, in their comments on Joel 2; 31, “Such 
shall probably occur in a more appalling degree 
before the final destruction of an ungodly 
world.” 


Signs Preceding His Coming, 165 


STARS. 

But in looking further for the ominous fore¬ 
runners of Christ’s coming, the stars give us 
much food for hope. He speaks of the stars of 
heaven falling on the earth “like as a fig 
tree casteth her untimely figs.” As one has 
said: “A single star heralded Christ’s first ap¬ 
pearing, millions will announce his second ad¬ 
vent.” The first meteoric display, called a “star 
shower,” occurred November 12, 1799, over an 
area of 11,000,000 square miles of earth. A 
French scientist wrote: “There was not a space 
of the firmament equal to three diameters of 
the moon that was not filled at every instant 
with bolides and falling stars.” The showers 
of 1832 and 1833 were equal in extent, and can 
be attested to by many living witnesses, while 
the historic records of them are abundant. The 
earth, it is said, seemed to be plowing her way 
through a vast stream of little worlds. In 1832, 
the showers seemed to be entirely European. 
It reached our shores in all its fascinating 
grandeur November 12, 1833. The inhabitants 
of all North America witnessed the display of 
celestial fire-works which burst unexpectedly 
upon them, and was as mysterious to our sav¬ 
ants as to our peasants. Again, the star show¬ 
ers of 1866 and 1868 appeared as their predeces¬ 
sors, unheralded and awful, equaling the former 
in their terrific grandeur. Europeans and 


166 Outline on Prophecy, 

Asiatics largely beheld this display as the 
globe’s eastern hemisphere was turned at night 
that year toward the belt of flashing stars, which 
fell in millions at the Mediterranean, North 
Africa, Turkey, the Holy Land and Europe. 
Queen Victoria, it is said, was awakened from 
her sleep and gazed for hours on these harbin¬ 
gers of a mightier monarch than ever sat in her 
royal chair. From Chili, in South America, 
6,000 miles northward, this awful sight was wit¬ 
nessed by thousands. Maine, Mexico, and the 
Sandwich Islands, also witnessed it. 

It is very apparent that the earth accom¬ 
plishes a mighty revolution that brings her to 
this meteoric belt at stated intervals of thirty- 
three or thirty-four years. From 1799, the first 
appearance, to 1833, and again in 1866 and 1868, 
is seen to be an interval of thirty-three years 
each time. Science has as yet given no sat¬ 
isfactory explanation of these portentous ap¬ 
pearances, and even should she find a natural 
cause for all of them, it would make them none 
the less significant; for what is nature, but 
God’s own law? And if he choose to display 
his supernatural omens through natural law, 
does that disannul their miraculous character? 

SEA. 

We now ask the sea to witness for our coming 
Lord. In close connection with the solar dis¬ 
turbances is seen the earthquake, and in as close 


Signs Preceding His Coining, 167 

connection with the earthquake is heard the 
thunderous roar of the ocean tidal wave. Pro¬ 
fessor M. Ponton, F. R. S. E., writes: “One of 
of the most interesting of earthquake phenom¬ 
ena is the great sea waves which roll in upon 
the land with such destructive force. * * 
The sea first retires a long way from the beach, 
and then returns in a mighty wave of great 
height, which rises up far beyond the highest 
tide mark, sweeping everything before it. The 
greatest sea waves are produced when the cen¬ 
ter of disturbance is near the shore. ” These 
tidal waves are said to be caused by submarine 
earthquakes. The unnatural earth movement 
swells the sea and propels huge crested waves 
at a fearful speed thousands of miles across the 
face of the deep, with an ominous roaring sound. 
These devastating, roaring, tidal waves, which 
are possibly but the fruit of the earthquake, if 
not produced by the same solar eruptions as it¬ 
self, as they are always co-existent with it, are 
becoming more frequent in proportion to the 
frequency of earthquakes. At the destruction 
of Port-au-Prince in 1770, “The great sea waves 
swept over the country to a distance of a league 
and a half from the shore. ” On the coast of 
Peru the sea has risen through submarine agita¬ 
tions to the height of eighty feet, and at Java 
over a hundred feet. And these mighty waves 
swept the shore for thousands of miles. “At 


168 


Outline on Frophecy. 


Africa, in August, 1868, two ships, the Peru¬ 
vian corvette, America, and the United States 
double-ende, Wateree, were carried on a wave 
fifty feet high, nearly half a mile beyond a rail¬ 
road and there left stranded high and dry.”— 
The Great Consummation, p. 288. In the volcanic 
convulsions at Java, 1883, the sea rose to a per¬ 
pendicular height of 135 feet, submerging all the 
adjacent lands. On contemplating these enor¬ 
mous waves it is no marvel that the sea “roars.” 
At the time that the earthquake destroyed the 
city of Semoda, Japan, in 1854, the sea was 
greatly disturbed, and a mighty wave started 
that dashed on the shores of California in twelve 
and a half hours, the distance being 4,500 miles. 
This mighty wave traveled 360 miles per hour, 
and the crest was still eighteen feet high on 
reaching its destination, and as wave followed 
wave, the distance from crest to crest was 150 
miles. Again, in the convulsions of Chili and 
Peru, in August, 1868, a mighty wave was 
started that in fourteen hours reached Califor¬ 
nia, 4,000 miles distant, and rolled on to the 
coast of Alaska at a speed of 300 miles per hour. 
The waves when starting were between sixty 
and eighty feet high, and reached the Sandwich 
Islands, a distance of 6,300 miles, in twelve 
hours, their crests being still thirty-six feet 
high. This gave them a rate of speed of 525 
miles per hour.—D. T. Taylor. Again, on 


Signs Preceding His Coming. 169 

May 10, 1877, unfortunate Peru was visited by 
an earthquake, and a mighty wall of water was 
started that deluged her shores and made itself 
felt across the Pacific ocean. It reached the 
Sandwich Islands in thirteen and a half hours, 
rolling at the enormous speed of 466 miles per 
hour. Surely the seas’ waves are roaring and 
calling rebel man to repentance, and if he will 
not quake before his Creator, inanimate creation 
will.— The Midnight Cry- 

Another sign of the approaching return of 
Cnrist we have in the people of Israel. Jesus 
himself refers to this as the principal sign of 
his appearing (Luke 21: 29-32). The Lord says, 
When the fig tree begins to put forth leaves, ye 
know that the summer is near. We have in the 
chapter on the Restoration of Israel called atten¬ 
tion to the fact that the time is now at hand 
that this fig tree, namely, Israel, is putting forth 
leaves and shoots. The Jews have their eye 
again on the promised land and begin to be re¬ 
stored as a nation. If we look at the nations, 
and become aware of their restlessness, their 
dissatisfaction and inordinate desire for earthly 
things, we see that all trees, that is, all nations, 
bear those signs. 

It is not only the earth in which we perceive 
the signs of the approaching end, but there is a 
feeling among mankind in general that the near 
future will bring something which will be of 


170 


Outline on Prophecy- 


momentous consequence to the existing condi¬ 
tion of things. Many statesman can not think 
of the future without more or less of a feeling 
of apprehension. We are convinced that the 
Bible gives us light as to the future, and we de¬ 
sire, at all events, to be classed with those who 
with joy lift up their eyes knowing that our re¬ 
demption is nigh. 

The Gospel is to be preached in all the world 
(Matt. 24: 14). Many look at the millions who 
as yet live in heathenism and are inclined to 
think that the coming of the Lord can not be 
near at hand, for they suppose that every 
heathen must before that event accept the Gos¬ 
pel. We believe that the command of the Lord 
has been almost fully carried out. It is not said 
that every individual should hear the Gospel, 
but all nations. Thibet is the last country 
which was yet closed to the Gospel message, 
but for more than four years the door has been 
opened even for that dark country. Mission¬ 
aries have found it possible to preach the Gos¬ 
pel in the interior of that land. It is, therefore, 
evident, that the message of peace is to-day pro¬ 
claimed among all nations. 































































CHAPTER XIV. 


The Hope of the Apostolic Church for 
the Second Coming of Christ. 

(Titus 2: 11-13.) 

11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath 
appeared to all men, 

12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly 
lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, 
in this present world; 

13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious 
appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus 
Christ. 

The first Christian churches were animated 
by a lively hope for the speedy return of their 
Redeemer and Savior. Acts 1: 9-11, we have 
the departure of Jesus. The last clause of the 
eighth verse is a command to preach the Gospel 
in all the world. When he was taken up to 
heaven in a cloud, the disciples followed him 
with their eyes as long as he had not passed 
out of the sphere of their vision. When he had 
disappeared, two men in white apparel stood by 


17^ 


Outline on Fropliecy, 


them, comforting them with the assurance that 
this same Jesus whom their gazing eyes had 
seen ascending into heaven, should in like man¬ 
ner come again from heaven. The disciples re¬ 
turned to Jerusalem with the joyous hope soon 
to meet again him who had now departed from 
them. In a previous chapter we have seen that 
Peter in his first sermon gives expression to his 
expectation of the second comming of Christ, 
and looking into this subject further, we find 
that the apostles in all places where they 
labored for the Master, did not neglect to make 
mention of this blessed hope. 

The question is often raised why in our day 
the second coming of Christ is so seldom dwelled 
upon in sermons. It is evidently because this 
blessed hope is not clearly enough realized. If 
we were so full of this subject as the apostles 
and the first apostolic churches, and had the 
same ardent longing for the return of the Lord, 
this glorious subject would often be the topic in 
meetings of believers. 

In the different apostolic epistles we find 
throughout expressions of the hope for the 
speedy return of the Lord. Paul wrote the first 
epistle to the Thessalonians in the year 52, and 
in it touches upon this subject three times. 
Chapter 2: 19, he tells them that they were his 
hope, his joy, his crown of rejoicing at the com¬ 
ing of Christ. Apparently, the coming of the 


The Hope of the Chureh. 17S 

liOrd was the subject which occupied his mind 
to such a degree that the day of the Son of man 
would often appear before his spiritual vision; 
and, at any event, it gave him untold joy to 
think of all the believers whom the Lord had 
committed to his charge, and who through his 
labor had been led to accept Christ, preparing 
themselves for the coming of the Bridegroom 
and having part in the first resurrection. 
Through faith he sees them assembled with him 
before the Son of God at his glorious appearing. 
A wonderfully blessed thought penetrates his 
mind: he is filled with the lively hope to see a 
large band of believers equipped through his 
labor to be among those whom the Lord will 
own as his bride. It is even a great joy to see 
that the Lord blesses the preaching of his Word 
a)id multitudes begin a new life; yet greater is 
the joy to find those who have believed and ac¬ 
cepted Christ proving faithful and becoming 
more and more grounded in a life of faith. The 
greatest measure of joy, however, we shall have 
when we shall meet again before his face, when 
after all the storms of life, after we on our pil¬ 
grimage, often under tears and earnest prayer, 
have sown the seed of the Word of God, we 
shall be counted worthy unitedly to glorify God 
in singing his praises. What divine joy shall 
illuminate our faces when we shall see the bless¬ 
ing with which God has crowned the humble 


174 Outline on Prophecy, 

work we were permitted to do on earth. The 
apostle Paul is aware that the faithful believers 
will be for him a crown of rejoicing for life eter¬ 
nal, for they are the witnesses of his faithful¬ 
ness as a servant of the Lord. 1 Thess. 3: 13, 
he prays that their hearts may be established 
that they may be found unblameable in holiness 
at the coming of Jesus Christ. Chapter 5: 23, 
he offers prayer in their behalf that their whole 
spirit and soul and body should be found blame¬ 
less at the coming of the Lord. He commits 
the Thessalonian brethren to his God that he 
may sanctify them wholly that they may be 
able to stand at the appearing of Christ. 

We often find Christians who say that they 
have the assurance of their readiness for the 
coming of Christ. Some are offended by such 
expressions, and many are of the opinion 
that it is presumptuous to make such a profes¬ 
sion. The passage from Titus heading this 
chapter admonishes us that we should be ready 
and wait for him. At all events, if we are in an 
attitude of waiting and have a longing for his 
coming, we must have a blessed consciousness 
that there is nothing whatever standing between 
him and us, and that we are able to stand when 
he appears in his majesty. We confide in our 
High Priest that he will make and keep us 
ready for the hour of his appearing, surrender- 


The Hope of the Church, 175 


ing all to him and imploring him to prepare us 
that we may meet him in a condition worthy of 
him. And since he has effected in us the ardent 
longing for his speedy coming, we may take 
this as a witness of the Holy Ghost that he has 
succeeded in preparing us and that, if the 
King of heaven would appear this moment, we 
should with joy enter into our home above. 

In the year 57, Paul wrote to the Corinthians 
(1 Cor. 1: 7, 8) exhorting them to keep them¬ 
selves in readiness and wait for the coming of 
the Lord Jesus Christ. Again he expressed his 
desire that they may be confirmed in order to 
be found blameless at his appearing. This idea 
of confirming we have in Romans 5, and only 
after the refining fire shall have done its work, 
as we shall see later in Peter, we shall have the 
needful stability to stand in those days. Truly, 
to stand before him, a mere hope born from ex¬ 
citement will not suffice; no other hope shall 
stand in those days than that which rests on the 
foundation of love toward him. 

The next mention of the coming of the Lord 
we find in the epistle of James which was writ¬ 
ten in the year 61. At that time already a de¬ 
cline of practical holiness manifested itself in 
the churches to which this letter is addressed. 
The poor were oppressed by the rich to whom 
were given the preference before others in the 
church, for they had already come to judge men 


176 Outline on Prophecy. 

more by their station in life than the inner life 
which is hid with Christ in God. James (chap. 
5: 7, 8) addresses himself to these poor ones 
who were under oppression, and exhorts them 
to wait patiently, comforting them with the 
words that the coming of the Lord is drawing 
nigh. Paul, in writing to the Colossians in the 
year 62, admonishes them to be free from that 
which is of the earth and seek the things above, 
since Christ had become their life. He explains 
to them that their life now is hid, but when 
Christ, their life, shall appear, they shall also 
appear with him in his glory. (Col. 3: 4.) 

In the same year Paul wrote to the Philip- 
pians and frequently makes mention of the 
coming of Christ. Chapter 1: 6, he expresses 
the hope that he who had begun in them a good 
work, would perform it until the day of Jesus 
Christ. Verses 9 and 10, he speaks of his 
prayers in their behalf which he sends up to 
God that their love and knowledge may be in¬ 
creased, and they may prove things that are 
right or wrong, that they might be sincere and 
without offence to the day of Christ. We see in 
the case of the foolish virgins that there is a 
possibility to go and meet the bridegroom and 
yet not be ready; that one may have lamps and 
yet no oil. From verse 10 of this chapter, it is 
evident that there may be such who talk much 
about the second coming of Christ and have a 


The Hove of the Church. 177 

hope in regard to it, but it is not a hope that 
will stand in the hour of trial. 

Chapter 3: 10, 11, the apostle tells us what 
condition of mind is required to be in readiness 
for the first resurrection. In the heart of Paul 
there was a deep longing to know Jesus better. 
In the resurrection of Christ he saw a power of 
which he desired to have more for his own life. 
In order that he could attain to this, the Spirit 
created within him a desire to experience a fel¬ 
lowship of his suffering, that he might become 
conformed unto his death. He then asks long¬ 
ingly whether he may have a part in the first 
resurrection from the dead. He has in his 
mind, without doubt, the first resurrection, for 
in the general resurrection all shall arise. 
When we see with what holy reverence the 
apostle makes mention of these things, and how 
unworthy he counts himself to have part in 
that resurrection, we are again reminded that 
it behooves all of us to implore the Lord in all 
reverence that he may keep us in readiness. 

The token of readiness is a willingness to suffer 
with Christ or for his cause, and with joy to 
lay down one’s life for him and share his death 
of a martyr. 

We will now turn to the epistle to the He¬ 
brews, which was written in the year 63. Those 
to whom this letter is addressed were in a con¬ 
dition of coldness and lacked spirituality. In- 


178 Outline on Prophecy, 

stead of growing in grace, a loss of spiritual 
life manifested itself among them since their 
conversion. The apostle endeavors, by interpre¬ 
tation of some Old Testament types and proph¬ 
ecy, to impress on their minds the greatness of 
Christ and the glory of his salvation. He con¬ 
cludes with the admonition not to cast away 
their confidence, which, he says, hath great rec¬ 
ompense of reward, for in only a little while he 
that promised to come will come and will not 
tarry. He endeavors to revive that earthly- 
minded church and to hold up to them as an in¬ 
centive to a holy life, the hope of the coming of 
Christ. 

Peter wrote his first letter in the year 64 to 
the believers and in it frequently makes mention 
of the second coming of the Lord. 

Chapter 1: 7, he comforts the believers who 
were then under great tribulation that their 
faith should through the heat of this trial be 
purified that it might be found pure gold, hav¬ 
ing been tried by fire, and that they might be 
presented unto praise and honor and glory at 
the appearing of Jesus Christ. 

Chapter 4: 13, he points out to them some¬ 
thing of the joy in suffering and gives them the 
assurance that as they are partakers of Christ 
through suffering for his sake, to which they 
submit willingly, so will they at his coming be 
glad with exceeding joy. 


live Hope of the Church, 179 

Chapter 5, he admonishes the ministers and 
bishops to feed the flock of Christ without self¬ 
interestedness but out of love to their Lord that, 
when the chief Shepherd shall appear, they will 
receive an imperishable crown of glory. 

Paul writes in the same year to Timothy and 
concludes his first epistle with the inj unction to 
keep the commandments of God without spot, 
unrebukable until the appearing of [our Lord 
Jesus Christ. (1 Tim. 6: 14.) 

In the year 67, he writes his second letter to 
Timothy. The veteran servant of the]|;Lord is 
fully aware that the close of his career is ap¬ 
proaching; the hope which he had expressed to 
the Thessalonians in the year 52, that he w^ould 
live until Jesus would return, has given place 
to the conviction that he must lay off his taber¬ 
nacle. Chapter 4: 8, he says, ‘ ‘Henceforth there 
is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, 
which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give 
me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all 
them also that love his appearing.” He knowa 
fully well that the day of the appearing of 
Christ will be a crowning day for all such whO) 
are ready for his coming. 

The last testimony of the apostles regarding 
this blessed hope for the coming of the Lord is 
given by the aged apostle John in his first epis¬ 
tle which was written about the year 95 on the 
isle of Patmos. Addressing the believers- in his 


180 Outline on Prophecy. 

loving manner, he says, “Little children, abide 
in him.” It appears that He had some appre¬ 
hension that the believers were not walking in 
intimate communion with God. He gives them 
the assurance that, if they abide in him, they 
shall have joyous confidence at his appearing, 
but that, on the other hand, they shall be 
ashamed before him if they do not abide in 
him. (1 John 2: 28.) 

A fitting conclusion of this paragraph we find 
in 1 John 3; 2, where he says that we are now 
the children of God and it has not yet appeared 
what we shall be, but when he shall appear, we 
shall be like him. In the following verse he 
says that every one who has this hope will pu¬ 
rify himself, even as he is pure. 

At his first appearing he had become like us, 
he was a man as we: hunger, thirst and tired¬ 
ness were experienced by him; his form and 
manner -were as that of other men; he was like 
us in all things, yet without sin. At his second 
coming we shall become like him: we shall re¬ 
ceive an immortal body as he; we shall be pen¬ 
etrated with everlasting joy, reign with him, 
and constitute with him the glorious churcn of 
the redeemed. In office, however, and dignity, 
he will in all eternity by far surpass us. When 
we consider that all apostles and their churches 
have lived in this blessed hope, we feel inclined 
to ask how it may have come that this hope 


The Hope of the Chxireli, 181 

has been lost to the church. If we look into the 
history of the church, we shall find that up to 
the fourth and fifth centuries the people of God 
were animated by this hope. During the dark 
ages which followed, true spiritual life was for 
the most part lost. Yet, even in the darkest 
times, we may notice rays of light radiating 
from men of God who were longingly waiting 
for the second coming of Christ; and we are 
thankful to the Lord that since the time of the 
reformation this hope has been revived in the 
Christian church. We hope earnestly that the 
time will soon come when in all evangelical 
churches there will be found those who in ar¬ 
dent longing wait for their Lord, and that soon 
everywhere where the Gospel is preached this 
star of hope may be more faithfully held up to 
the church. 


CHAPTER XV. 


The Preparation of the Bride for 
the Bridegroom. 

(Ps. 45: 11-16; 2 Cor. 11: 1-3.) 

11 So shall the king- greatly desire thy beauty: for he 
is thy Lord; and worship thou him. 

12 And the daughter of Tyre shall be there with a 
gift; even the rich among the people shall entreat thy 
favor. 

13 The king’s daughter is all glorious within: her 
clothing is of wrought gold. 

14 She shall be brought unto the king in raiment of 
needlework: the virgins her companions that follow her 
shall be brought unto thee. 

15 With gladness and rejoicing shall they be brought: 
they shall enter into the king’s palace. 

16 Instead of thy fathers shall be thy children, whom 
thou mayest make princes in all the earth. 

1 Would to God ye could bear with me a little in my 
folly: and indeed bear with me. 

2 For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for 
I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present 
you as a chaste virgin to Christ. 

3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent b e- 






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Prepavi^tioih of the Bride. 183 

guiled Eve through his subtil ty, so your minds should 
be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. 

The threefold division of prophetic events 
which constitute the subject of this book, is im¬ 
portant in each particular part, as far, however, 
as practical personal matters are concerned, the 
idea .of the preparation of the bride for the 
Bridegroom is of the most momentous conse¬ 
quence to us. It is a blissful privilege to search 
the prophetic Scriptures and learn more about 
the fruits of the glorious victory of Calvary. 
Hence, we read also in the prophetic book of the 
New Testament, in the first verses. Blessed is 
he who heareth and keepeth what is written in 
this book of prophecy. 

When we approach this subject of the prep¬ 
aration of the bride, we feel as in no other in¬ 
stance that we stand on holy ground; and we 
are made to think of the words of Paul: “I keep 
under my body, and bring it into subjection, lest 
that by any means, when I have preached to 
others, I myself should be a castaway. ” It is 
our only desire to be fully made loose from all 
things earthly and by the refining fire of the 
Holy Ghost to be thoroughly tried, that we may 
be counted worthy to stand before him when he 
shall come again and be partakers of his glory. 

Our previous chapter treating of the hope of 
the apostolic churches should serve as an incen¬ 
tive to the preparation of the bride of Christ for 


1S4 Outline on Fropliecy, 

the appearing of the Lord; hence, we shall fur¬ 
ther, as briefly as possible, call attention to a few 
thoughts designed to set this truth in a clearer 
light and to point out to the reader the import¬ 
ance of true earnestness and zeal in the work 
of preparation. 

In the words preceding our text (Ps. 45), we 
have a beautiful picture of the Bridegroom as a 
victor over the nations and of all his dignity and 
majesty. In the words of the text we find in¬ 
structions for the bride, showing how she may 
win the good pleasure and the heart of the 
Bridegroom, and what a glorious endowment she 
will obtain by conforming to his divine will. 
First of all, she is earnestly exhorted to forget 
her father’s house and her kindred, and if she 
is willing to make this sacrifice for the sake of 
the King, she shall indeed find his good pleas¬ 
ure. It is even so in natural relations. If a 
bride is wedded to the bridegroom, he will not 
be contended with anything less than her whole 
heart. If the bride in her thoughts would live 
yet in her former home, and he would feel that 
she is more there than in his company, he could 
not truly take delight in her, even if she be of 
lovely figure. 

If this is true in the case of an earthly bride¬ 
groom, how much more of the Bridegroom who 
is Lord of all. It is impossible that he will 
truly find pleasure in a bride whose heart is yet 


Preparation of the Bride- 185 

divided. He desires that the love of the bride 
should be bestowed on him alone, and that she 
should place her whole being at his disposal. 

The whole book of the Song of Solomon treats 
of this communion between bridegroom and 
bride, and pictures the beauty of this relation 
in such glowing colors that it is at once felt that 
this is written for those who have through the 
faith of the Son of God put fleshly enticement 
to the cross and whose understanding is opened 
for spiritual things. Chapter 1, the bride com¬ 
plains that she is black, having been tanned by 
the sun, and that she, rather against her will, 
has been the keeper of a stranger’s vineyard 
while her own vineyard was neglected. 

Chapter 2, we have the meeting of bride and 
bridegroom. Even if there is yet an iron lattice 
between them, the bridegroom notwithstanding 
calls to the bride w’ho has hid in the clefts of a 
rock, saying that the winter is passed and the 
time of the singing of birds is come; he ex¬ 
presses his longing to hear her voice. Her re¬ 
ply is, “My beloved is mine and I am his.” 
Chapter 3, we have a description of how the 
bride finds the bridegroom and leads him into 
her mother’s house. From there on, the book 
describes the pleasure which they find in each 
other’s company. 

We read frequently in the Holy Scriptures of 
the body of Christ, of the temple of God, and 


186 Outline on Prophecy, 

of the bride of Christ. Many who do not take 
the time to investigate the Scriptures, are at a 
loss in dealing with these different expressions 
knowing not how to make use of them. Look¬ 
ing more closely into this matter we find that 
these expressions have reference to the same 
subject. The different expressions are used with 
reference to the three persons of the Godhead. 

In regard to their relation toward God the 
Father, the sanctified church is called the tem¬ 
ple, or the city of God. Searching the Script¬ 
ures while giving attention to this subject, we 
find the sanctified church of God typically rep¬ 
resented in the Old Testament by the taberna¬ 
cle; namely, by the boards which, being covered 
with gold, were joined together according to the 
instruction given by God, and which together 
constituted the holy and the holy of holies. 

In the holy of holies the Father dwelt in his 
law, the two tables of stone being kept there, 
the Son dwelt in the mercy-seat and the Holy 
Ghost in the pillar of clouds. Even in the Old 
Dispensation, the holy church was represented 
by the tabernacle of God in which he dwelt, 
the different boards serving as types of the 
individual believers. These boards were of 
cedar w’ood, which is not subject to putrefac¬ 
tion, representing a pure and immortal life. 
They were covered with gold, a type of im¬ 
parted holiness which we receive from the Son 


Preparcition of the Bride, 187 

of God if we consecrate ourselves fully to him. 
So it is necessary for every believer, in order 
to be a fit subject for the indwelling of God, to 
experience entire sanctification. 

The temple again was a type of the church of 
the believers, and is in the New Testament often 
referred to as such. The temple was the place 
where the Godhead dwelt and the service in the 
temple is a picture of the readiness for his ser¬ 
vice requisite for believers. Every stone used 
for the erection of the temple building was 
chiseled out and prepared to fit the place for 
whi ch it was intended, and this work of prep¬ 
aration had been completed before the founda- 
t ion of the building was laid, so that while its 
erection was in progress, not a sound of ham¬ 
mer was heard. It must be even so concerning 
the preparation for the coming of the Lord. 
When he comes as lightning in the clouds of 
heaven, we must be fully prepared to occupy 
our place in the building of God. 

Th e last picture of the believers, as the city 
of God, we have, in Rev. 21: 9-11, where John 
sees the city, the new Jerusalem, coming down 
out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for 
her husband. The apostle is told by the angel 
who is to show him the city, to come and see 
the bride of the lamb. In this picture we see 
the church of God as a place of dwelling of the 
Father in the consummate light of eternity. 


188 Outline on Frophecy. 

In the same chapter we see further the glory 
of this city of God, indicating the high station 
for which the believers, who are willing to be 
prepared by his grace for this tabernacle of 
God, are chosen. 

These are briefly the expressions used in the 
Scriptures for the sanctified church of the New 
Testament to indicate its relation to the Father. 

Passing on to the subject of the relation of 
the church to the Son we find this relation to be, 
as it were, a con 3 ugal one. The church is the 
bride of Christ, both have, as it were, become 
one spirit. 

The Holy Scriptures refer to this relation in 
many instances; endeavoring, however, to avoid 
all verbosity, we shall take into consideration 
only a few points. 

Taking the first Adam as a type, we have a 
picture of the high dignity of the office of the 
bride, pointing out also the way by which we 
may attain to the same. 

Adam was created before the woman; he was 
alone, finding his equal not in creation. In 
creating a lielpmate for him, God followed a 
method which must attract the attention of 
every Bible reader. It would be well-nigh 
proper to say that Eve was not a new creation, 
but there was, as it were, a division of Adam in - 
to two beings. We do not read that God made 
use of the dust of the ground or of the com - 


Treparation of the Bride. 189 

mand, “Let there be” — the Lord simply took 
from Adam a part from the proximity of the 
heart and formed out of it the woman. Being 
bone of his bone, and flesh of his flesh, a fact 
which was at once recognized by Adam, the 
woman must be of equal rank and of like mind 
with him. 

In accordance with this plan of God, the 
bride of the second Adam shall be brought 
forth. What there may be found now of the 
first Adam, shall and must die by the power of 
the Holy Ghost; and by the sacrificial death of 
Jesus Christ we are through faith made par¬ 
takers of his own nature, so that, as Paul testi¬ 
fies in Eph. 5: 30, we are flesh of his flesh and 
bone of his bone. As close as was the relation¬ 
ship, according to the flesh, between Adam and 
his helpmate, even so close must be the rela¬ 
tionship according to the spirit between Christ 
and his bride. 

In the marriage of Isaac we have again a pic¬ 
ture of the way and manner of the preparation 
of the bride for this high station. Isaac indeed 
is the great type of the second person of the 
Godhead. Having typically been offered, the 
time came when a bride should be chosen for 
him. So Christ had to be offered as a sacrifice, 
before the bride could be united with him; for 
his sacrificial death was the fundamental basis 
for the development of the bride. Faithful 


190 Outline on Prophecy- 

Eliezer was, as a type of the Holy Ghost, com¬ 
missioned to bring the bride to Isaac. The 
bride must be brought to the promised land 
where Isaac at that time had his abode; there¬ 
fore it was necessary that she in the first place 
be a bride who is willing to give up her 
friends, her home and in fact everything: and, 
secondly, that she is one of his nearest kin¬ 
dred. This brings to our attention two impor¬ 
tant points concerning the bride of Christ. His 
bride must be of his nearest kin according to 
the spirit, i. e., the same Holy Spirit by whom 
he was begotten must beget her. Further it is 
necessary for the bride to give up all her kin¬ 
dred who may not be willing to accompany her to 
the land of the bridegroom. The basis for the 
decision of Rebekah was faith. She must have 
all confidence in Eliezer, and believe that he had 
told her the full truth about Isaac, for her eye 
had as yet not beheld him. For the bride of 
Christ, also, it is necessary that she will accept 
the message from the Bridegroom with uncon¬ 
ditional faith, if she would obtain the full bless¬ 
ing. 

In the further course of the transactions 
(Gen. 24), we see that efforts were made by the 
relations of the bride to detain her. Truly, 
these relatives are a picture of the dead church 
whose adherents are related to the true people 
of God, and yet according to their nature they 


Pi^eparation of the Bride, 191 

dwell in another country. The nominal Chris¬ 
tians who have good intentions and are devout, 
as far as their outward appearance is concerned, 
but have not come far enough to verify the sav¬ 
ing truth of the Gospel by their own experience, 
are always standing in the way of those who 
would break fully from things earthly. Eliezer 
then interposed with friendly entreaties. If 
the sanctified are in earnest, there will always 
be a way in which they can move onward. The 
final decision w^as to be made by Rebekah her¬ 
self. How joyous is her word, ‘ T will go with this 
man. ” Oh! that, in spite of all efforts of the 
world,yea even of relations and so-called friends, 
this were the determination of every child of 
God, “I will go with this man.” 

2 Cor. 11, Paul may have appeared to the Co¬ 
rinthians overzealous in his endeavor to im¬ 
press them with the importance of belonging to 
the bride of Christ. He asks them, therefore, 
to bear with what may seem folly to them, add¬ 
ing in a way of explanation that he does this in 
order that he may present them as a chaste vir¬ 
gin to Christ. Apparently, the faithful servant 
of God had the impression that the church was 
not ready to meet the Lord and be acknowl¬ 
edged as a pure virgin for him. In the book of 
Esther, also, we have in the preparation of the 
virgins for the reception of the king, a type of 
the bride of Christ. 


192 Outline on Prophecy, 

We now turn to the relation which the sancti¬ 
fied church holds toward the third person of 
the Godhead, the Holy Ghost. In this relation 
the bride is denominated as the body of Christ, 
as is evident from the following passages: Rom. 
12: 5; 1 Cor. 12: 27: Eph. 1: 22, 23; Col. 1: 24. 

It would hardly be correct to say that this 
expression indicates a still closer union than 
those considered previously, and yet it may in¬ 
dicate a particular relation within the circle of 
those who constitute the bride of Christ, and 
may have application for a smaller circle in the 
millennium. In the bride of Christ, we have a 
twofold picture. Firstly, there are those who 
making a full surrender, are entirely sanctified 
and are represented in Revelation as taking 
part with Christ in the priestly office and in 
government. 

If we, however, take into consideration Hos. 
3, the first part of the chapter and other pas¬ 
sages, it will be evident that the Lord has 
espoused himself to Israel and that they shall 
with others be the bride. In the above passage 
he entreats the bride to keep herself pure, 
promising that he shall then accept her as his 
wife. When we consider the prophetic promises 
of the glory to which Israel shall be exalted in 
time to come, and what privileges they shall en 
joy, we shall readily see that they belong to the 
bride of Christ, after they have been fully sane- 


Freparation of the Bride, 193 

tified. Before, however, this can be fulfilled, 
the members of the body of Christ shall be 
united with the head, an event which shall take 
place at the time of the rapture of the saints. 

This then will be what might be termed a 
preceding festival of the great marriage with 
Israel, the chosen bride, and will be a union in 
which he forms with his members a heavenly 
body, who shall, as the bridegroom, be united 
with converted Israel at the time of the great 
marriage supper in the millennium, in which we 
shall be partakers of all his joy. 

Greater joy and a greater victory for the 
kingdom of God will never be experienced than 
by the conversion of all Israel. 

If we think of the embodying in Christ by 
which head and members shall be joined to¬ 
gether into a heavenly body, in which the same 
life-blood shall circulate, we are again made to 
understand something of the importance of our 
preparation for that place. Not a weakly, sick¬ 
ly or in some other respect faulty member can 
be united to the head. The body must be as 
perfect as is the head, and only then can they 
be fitted together in one body. What a dignity 
that we shall constitute one body with Christ! 


CHAPTER XVI. 


The Rapture of the Saints. 

(1 Thess. 4: 14-18; Dan. 7: 9, 10, 13, 14, 26, 27.) 

14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, 
even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring' 
with him. 

15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, 
that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of 
the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 

16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven 
with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with 
the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise 
lirst: 

17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught 
up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in 
the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 

18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words. 

9 I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the 
Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as 
snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his 
throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burn¬ 
ing fire. 

10 A fiery stream issued and came forth from before 
him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten 



THE RAPTURE OF THE BELIEVERS. 













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llapture of the Saints. 193 

thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the 
judgment was set, and the books were opened. 

13 I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like 
the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and 
came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near 
before him. 

14 And there was given him dominion, and glory,and 
a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, 
should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting domin¬ 
ion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that 
which shall not be destroyed. 

26 But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take 
away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto 
the end. 

27 And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness 
of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given 
to the people of the saints of the Most High, whose king¬ 
dom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall 
serve and obey him. 

Before entering into this important subject 
we will turn to a number of types given us in 
the Holy Scriptures for the purpose of encour¬ 
aging the believers through the assurance that 
those who serve the Lord faithfully shall be 
made free from the vanishing things of earth 
and be translated into the kingdom of his Son. 
Above all, these types go to show that his chil¬ 
dren shall be exempted from the judgments 
which the Lord must bring upon the wicked¬ 
ness of this world. 

The first type is Enoch. (Gen. 5: 21-24.) The 
fundamental truth presented typically by his 
translation is that those who walk in holy com- 


196 Outline on Prophecy, 

munion with their God will be translated. Enoch 
walked for three hundred years in such commun¬ 
ion with Go d, and, therefore, he was taken up 
higher in order to escape the judgment about 
to come ov er a corrupt world. 

The time preceding the millennium is gener¬ 
ally divided into three periods. Enquiring into 
this matter more closely we find three sub¬ 
divisions, making six periods, or seven, if we 
include the millennium. 

Considering the three principal divisions we 
find the first period to extend from creation to 
the flood, generally designated as the infancy 
of mankind. The second period covers the time 
from the flood to the birth of Christ, and 
is called the period of training or “school- 
mastering’' of the human family. The third 
period extends from the birth of Christ to 
the millennium, and is the time of the Gospel or 
the fullness of grace. In the translation of 
Enoch we have, for the human family in the 
first period, a testimony that there will be 
a time when, without tasting death, the saints 
shall be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. 

The second type is Elijah. (2 Kings 2: 12.) 
This falls into the second period, when man¬ 
kind is under a process of education giving to 
those who live in that period divine evidence 
that the believers shall,without seeing death,be 
translated into the fellowship of the Lord. 


197 


Rapture of the Saints- 

A further type we have in Joseph and his 
brethren. (Gen. 45: 9-12.) This is not so direct 
a type, no translating taking place, and yet it 
conveys the same teaching. Joseph, the ruler of 
the land of Egypt, to whom all power was given, 
is a type of the King of heaven. His brethren 
are a type of the brethren of Jesus, i. e., the 
church. The great famine is a picture of the 
time of Antichrist. In accordance with the ideas 
conveyed by this picture, the believers shall 
enter into the time of tribulation, but before 
the tribulation is fully come, they shall by the 
heavenly Joseph be translated into his own 
country. The brethren of Joseph received his 
invitation to come to him into the land of Egypt 
toward the close of the second year of the famine. 
There was at that time only scarcity of food— 
not actual famine, but these two years were 
followed by five years of severe famine and dur¬ 
ing which they were with Joseph whose store¬ 
houses were amply supplied. In accordance 
with this type we may suppose that the believ¬ 
ers will see only the beginning of the time of 
tribulation. 

We turn our attention now to another picture 
which we have in Matt. 24; 16-18, in the pre¬ 
diction of the destruction of Jerusalem. In this 
passage the believers are charged to flee from 
Jerusalem in haste when they see it be¬ 
sieged by an army; they should lose no time in 


198 Outliiie on Frophecy. 

trying to take some of their effects. When Jeru • 
Salem was besieged by the Romans and famine 
began to rage in the city, the besieging army 
withdrew for a short time, without doubt through 
the providence of God, giving to the believers 
an opportunity to liee from the city. They im¬ 
proved the opportunity, reaching in safety 
Pella, the place of refuge intended for them, 
where they were spared from the terrible judg¬ 
ments. This also is accepted as an evidence 
that the believers shall not remain on the earth 
during the time of the great tribulation. On 
the other hand we should at any rate conclude 
from this that Antichrist must first make his 
appearance before the hour for the translation 
of the saints has come. This is also clear from 
2 Thess. 2:2, 3, where Paul states that Christ 
will not come except there come a falling away 
first, and that man of sin be revealed. On the 
strength of this passage w^e must say that we 
believe there must be some further develop¬ 
ments before we may expect the return of Christ; 
that, however, may take place within a short 
time since everything at present is going at a 
rapid pace. The spirit of Antichrist is already 
strongly represented and apostasy has made 
great advances. 

A further assurance that we shall not be on 
the earth during the time of tribulation is found 
in Rev. 3: 10, 11, in the epistle to the church in 


Rapture of the Saints. 


199 


Philadelphia. They are portrayed there as a 
small band of believers, esteemed only little by 
the world, and having a little strength, but in 
the eyes of God held of high estimation because 
he has found them faithful. They present in 
truth a picture of those who have prepared 
themselves for the coming of the Lord, and 
who are worthy to appear before him. Here it 
is revealed to us that of the great multitude of 
so-called believers only a small and unnoticed 
band is found worthy to be kept from the time 
of tribulation. 

Many dear children of God have made a great 
mistake by not searching closely into the mean¬ 
ing of that promise (Matt. 24: 16-18), taking it 
to indicate a Pella on earth, and selected a 
place for themselves where they believed to be 
secure from the wiles of Antichrist. The Holy 
Scriptures, however,show clearly that the tribu¬ 
lation will come over the whole earth; conse¬ 
quently, the place of refuge for the believers 
can not be on the earth. 

This idea leads us to the consideration of the 
translation of the believers, as it is revealed to 
us in the Scriptures. 

1 Cor. 15: 51-53, Paul enters into this subject, 
saying that he is revealing to them a mystery. 
Why this subject was a mystery to the Corin¬ 
thians is readily understood when we consider 
how worldly that church had become. Chapter 


200 Outline on Fj^ophecy. 

3, the apostle says that he could not give them 
meat because they were yet babes, and reproves 
them for several forms of sin found among 
them. Are not the Corinthians a picture of 
those to whom the second coming of the Lord 
is a secret in our day? They are yet ensnared 
in worldly things and do not desire that he 
should soon return. They have never with 
prayer searched the promises of God’s Word re¬ 
garding this subject, and, therefore, it is a mys¬ 
tery to them to talk of the blessed hope which 
animates the believers. 

According to Luke 12, those who say, ‘My 
lord delayeth his coming, ” shall begin to beat 
the menservants and maidens, instead of 
inviting them into the kingdom of God. This 
is verified anew that such who have no longing 
for the Lord’s coming, are harsh in judgment 
against such of God’s children who do not 
agree in all their teachings, because they have 
not a new spirit like Joshua and Caleb. Paul 
states that the translating shall take place in 
the twinkling of an eye at the time of the last 
trump. In any event, this trump will be heard 
only by those whose spiritual ear is opened. 
According to 1 Thess. 5: 2, the return of the 
Lord will be as the coming of a thief in the 
night. Such an one will come at an unexpected 
hour, taking his prey in the quietness of night. 
Even so it shall be at the coming of the Son of 


Rapture of the Saints, 


201 


man. When the world will be engaged in rev¬ 
elling and drunkenness, in marrying and wor¬ 
shipping mammon, and even the cold church 
be asleep, then shall the sign of the Son of 
man appear in heaven, visible only to the be¬ 
lievers. The world will see only the accom¬ 
plished fact, the translation itself will be hidden 
from their eyes. The dead who have fallen asleep 
in the Lord will come out of their graves; those 
who yet live and wait for his coniing, will be 
changed in the twinkling of an eye, in a moment 
shall that which is mortal be swallowed up by 
immortality. Toe loved ones who have gone 
before, shall be united with us, and together we 
appear before the face of God. 

In the passage from Thessalouians which is 
heading this chapter, the apostle takes up the 
same subject and presents the same thoughts; 
a few points, however, are more fully developed. 
The Thessalonians were a lively, spiritual 
church; to them this subject was not unknown 
or obscure. They lived in this blessed hope 
and, at any rate, made this the subject of their 
conversation. On the other hand, however, it 
would appear that they went rather to the ex¬ 
treme, believing that all who would be worthy to 
meet the Lord, should live to see his appearing. 
So nearly at hand did they believe was the ful¬ 
fillment of the promises relating to his coming 
that they waited for it daily; and when, notwith- 


202 Outline on Prophecy, 

standing, some who had been living in this hope 
died, the anxious question was raised among 
them whether those should in the resurrection 
not be at a disadvantage from such who would 
live to see his coming. Paul, therefore, explains 
to them that physical death has nothing to do 
with this question, and that those who fell 
asleep in the Lord shall have the same inherit¬ 
ance as the others, the condition being that 
they were prepared for his coming when they 
fell asleep. 

In conclusion the apostle says that they 
should comfort one another with these words, 
namely, of the coming of the Lord. At any 
event, it is his opinion that the believers who 
are passing through great tribulation should, 
when they come together, speak of these 
things and comfort each other with words of 
encouragment concerning the coming of the 
Lord, viz.,that they should soon meet him in the 
clouds of heaven, and how glorious their 
reward would be. We believe that the Chris¬ 
tian families among the Thessalonians would 
after finishing their daily work, sit together in 
the evening, to follow the exhortation of the 
apostle. How beautiful when the father of a 
family can in the evening gather around him 
his believing children to prepare himself with 
them for what the future has in store. 

We will take up one more passage in Luke 


liapture of the Saints. 


WS 


17: 34-36 before leaving this subject. Here 
the Lord himself announces his return, and 
that a separation will take place when becomes. 
Two shall be in the field, two grinding at the 
mill, two lying in one bed. There may be only 
little difference as far as their outw^ard appear¬ 
ance is concerned, but while the one has a hid¬ 
den life from above, the other is thinking only 
of his field. There will be a sudden separation: 
one will be left on this earth, while the other 
one shall meet his Lord. When we think 
of the separation which shall take place when 
the Lord shall come again, when we think in 
how many a family there will be a division, 
shall it not be an incentive to us to be prepared 
for the coming of Christ? Great indeed will 
be the distinction between those who can go 
and the others who have to remain. While the 
first shall in the clouds receive the reward of 
grace and be crowned, those who remain shall 
under the frightful reign of Antichrist pass 
from tribulation to tribulation. Truly, it pays 
to prepare for his coming. Often the question 
is heard, what will become of our children 'when 
Jesus returns and we shall be caught up to meet 
him in the clouds? Do not the Scriptures show 
us that we must be fully sanclified and filled 
with his love in order to have part in the first 
resurrection? Even if infants are saved because 
sin is not yet counted against them, it would 


204 Outline on Frophecy, 

nevertheless be wrong to suppose that they 
themselves are prepared for the coming of the 
Lord as sanctified children of God. This point 
is not clear to many, yet the Scriptures do not 
leave us in the dark concerning it. There is 
enough scriptural ground for the belief that the 
faith of the parents is sufficient for the chil - 
dren, also, as long as they are in infancy. We 
hope to be understood rightly in this: when we 
speak of faith we mean that they intercede for 
those of their own household until they obtain 
assurance concerning them. 

Another thought is embarrassing to many. 
If of the parents one is a believer and the other 
one not, what shall become of their children? 
In reference to this point, we have the word of 
Paul, 1 Cor. 7: 14, on the strength of which we 
are fully satisfied that the sanctified parent 
shall take with him infant children, since they 
are entrusted by God to the sanctified parent 
and laid upon his heart. 



THE SAINTS RECEIVING THEIR REWARD. 





























































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































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CHAPTER XVII. 


The Different Ranks of the Blessed. 

(1 Cor. 15: 35-42.) 

35 But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? 
and with what body do they come? 

36 Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, 
except it die: 

37 And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that 
body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of 
wheat, or of some other grain: 

38 But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, 
and to every seed his own body. 

39 All fiesh is not the same flesh: but there is one 
kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of 
fishes, and another of birds. 

40 There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terres¬ 
trial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory 
of the terrestrial is another. 

41 There is one glorj^ of the sun, and another glory of 
the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star 
differeth from another star in glory. 

42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown 
in corruption; it is raised in incorruption. 

There shall be a vast distinction between 


206 Outline on Prophecy ^ 

those who have been saved but are yet worldly 
minded with the world, and those who conse¬ 
crate themselves fully to the Lord. 

Many may perhaps, as the disciples, consider 
the question what the reward shall be if we, 
consecrating ourselves entirely to the Lord, 
leave everything and follow him. Is it only a 
blessing which we receive in this life, or shall 
there also be a reward of grace in the life to 
come? Truly, it will pay even in this life to 
walk in close communion with God. Yet, the 
time on the earth is only the seed time, the har¬ 
vest shall follow in the beyond. 

The passage of Scripture which heads this 
chapter is clear indeed in its teaching that there 
shall be a great difference in the various ranks 
of the saints. 

We understand that all God’s children shall 
enjoy salvation, which they receive of God ac - 
cording to their own capability. The apostle, 
however, teaches that this capability is greater 
in some than in others. According as we have 
been prepared through the Holy Spirit, we 
shall be capable of accepting the bliss of th e 
redeemed in the fullness of the Spirit. 

Something similar we experience even here 
upon the earth. In the assembly of the believ¬ 
ers the Holy Spirit with his fullness blesses the 
Word which is preached. Many believers will 
be filled with the preseace of the Lord in such 


Ranks of the Blessed. 


m 


measure that they experience a degree of the 
bliss of heaven; others, too, receive a blessing, 
but it, however, falls far short of that degree to 
which the first have attained. The difference 
simply comes from the fact that the spiritual 
life of the latter is yet rather superficial and 
they are, therefore, not able to grasp the deep¬ 
est truths and most glorious treasures offered 
in such meetings. 

In our text Paul is very clear in his teaching 
concerning the new body which the believers 
shall obtain in the resurrection of the just. He 
teaches that not all flesh is the same flesh, but 
that there is a great difference in species. Still 
greater shall be the difference in the beyond. 
All the blessed shall have heavenly bodies, but 
in the glory of their bodies there shall be a great 
difference—one shall surpass the other in glory. 
Verse 41 the apostle says that of sun, moon and 
stars each has its own glory, but the glory of 
the sun surpasses, by far, that of the moon, and 
the glory of the moon differs from that of the 
stars, while even the stars differ from each other 
in glory. All, however, are full of beauty and 
shine in indescribable splendor. So it shall, 
also, be with the blessed: every one having part 
in the first resurrection shall shine in the eter¬ 
nal glory of heaven, some indeed much brighter 
than others, all, however, in an inexpressibly 
beautiful light. 


208 Outline on Pi^opkecy. 

What a difference in the outward appearance 
of individual men will the attentive observer 
notice already here upon the earth. One will 
meet persons who in their appearance are like 
Absalom, without fault, while others are un¬ 
comely—yes, even deformed. This, however, 
is only the external appearance, and the inner 
man, the heart, is often the very opposite of 
what the external represents, because our earth¬ 
ly bodies are not yet formed and developed in 
accordance with the new life within. Yet when 
man is born from above, the creation of the new 
body begins in the soul which is the garment of 
the spirit and makes an impression on the 
earthly body. Great is the change wrought 
even in the outward man by conversion. How 
many a man who, before his conversion, was re¬ 
pulsive in his whole appearance, but after hav¬ 
ing for a number of years lived a life that is hid 
with Christ in God, became attractive and pleas¬ 
ing in his very appearance. 

On the other hand, sin also may cause a great 
change in a person—a well known fact. How 
many a lovely and even agreeable face has been 
changed through indulgence in sin into a pic¬ 
ture that is dreadful. 

As said above, the new body of the resurrec¬ 
tion shall be formed in accordance with the in¬ 
ner life, the external appearance of man shall 
be only a representation of the inner man. 


Ranks of the Blessed. W9 

A clear evidence of this we have in the trans- 
liguration of Christ. There the light of the innei". 
life penetrated through the veil of the human 
vessel in such a manner that even the raiment, 
was radiating the glory of the inner man. 

Our natural body, which now.serves as a t>ab- 
ernacle for the inner man, shall be the grain of 
seed for the new body, and that new body shall 
in a measure be a likeness of the mortal body. 
When John beheld the Son of God in his maj - 
esty and glory, he, notwithstanding the great 
change, recognized the well known features of 
the Savior. This alone is an unmistakable an¬ 
swer to the question whether the blessed in the 
beyond may recognize each other. We believe 
that we even shall retain the same modulation 
of voice. Mary recognized her risen Lord by. 
his voice. 

Our body will be sown as a grain of seed for 
the resurrection. Rom. 12: 1, we have the ex¬ 
hortation to present our bodies a living sacrifice 
holy unto the Lord; and in addition to this we 
have the solemn word that him who destroys 
the temple of God, God shall also destroy. W^^ 
would here call upon all who misuse and destroy 
their bodies to stand still and consider what 
they do. Our body is a grain of seed for eterr 
nity. 

Even in the Old Testament Scriptures it is 
taught that there wfill be different ranks among 


^10 Outline on Frophccy, 

the blessed in heavenly glory. Dan. 12: 2, 
ihe Lord permitted that faithful man of God to 
take a glimpse of the future. He sees the dead 
rising from their graves, ‘ ‘some to everlasting 
life and some to everlasting shame and con* 
tempt.” He sees such who were teachers 
“shine as the bi’ightness of the firmament, and 
they that turn many to righteousness as the 
stars for ever and ever.” Matt. 13: 43, Jesus 
gives us the beautiful word that the righteous 
ehall shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of 
their Father. 

The clearest scriptural testimony regarding 
the difierent degrees of heavenly blessedness 
we find in Revelation. In the seventh chapter 
John beholds the blessed in their heavenly man¬ 
sions. First of all, he sees the multitude of the 
people of Israel, distinguishing even each parti¬ 
cular tribe. Then he beholds a great multitude 
of all nations and people and tongues, praising 
God in glory. They are clothed with white 
robes and carry palms of victory in their hands, 
but as yet have no crown. Such as are crowned 
be sees in Rev. 4 and 5. 

In Rev. 14 and 15, he sees two distinctive 
idasses. In the fourteenth chapter he sees the 
bride of the Lamb, the spectacle of wliich ac¬ 
cording to the description surpasses everything 
his eye has yet beheld. These are such which 
have been found blameless before the throne of 


Ranks of the Blessed, 211 

God, in which even the eye of God did not hnd 
anything which might be displeasing to him. 
They follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth 
and are continually in his presence. Truly, 
these are such who have here upon the earth 
learned to obey and follow him, and who fol¬ 
lowed him even through Gethsemane. 

What appears to us as of particular import¬ 
ance is the hymn which they sing. It is a 
hymn which can not be learned by othere of the 
blessed; it surpasses the voices of the holy in¬ 
habitants of heaven, end angels even are not 
able to sing it. Nothing else can it be which 
makes their singing so incomparably beautiful 
than perfect love and the cognition of the full 
significance of the mystery which was in Jesus 
Christ, and which is revealed in tho.se who con¬ 
secrate themselves fully to him. 

This passage appears to us to be of the ut¬ 
most importance, for it shows us that the con¬ 
verted soul may here upon earth reach a degree 
of grace and conformity to the image of Christ,, 
which is impos.sible to attain in the beyond.. 
Whoever neglected to be prepared, has suffered 
a loss which is irrepairable for eternity. 

We will readily admit that those who have 
been saved may in the hereafter experience an 
increase in knowledge, yet, hardly can this be in 
a measure as it is possible here upon the earth. 
When we meditate upon this matter, and notice 


Outline on Prophecy- 

what may be neglected by a lack of earnestness 
in this matter, and that such neglection can not 
be repaired through all eternity, it is an incen¬ 
tive to us to press on to the mark we have be¬ 
fore us and to forget the things which are be¬ 
hind. We lift up our heads and leave the earth 
beneath our feet. We consecrate ourselves 
anew to the Lord and say. Lord Jesus make 
out of us what is possible to thee, and let us he 
found faithful. 

In the lifteenth chapter of Kevelation, John 
beholds the blessed which have after the trans¬ 
lation of the bride been converted, and who, re¬ 
fusing to accept the mark of the beast, loved not 
their lives unto death, but gave it for eterual 
bliss. They are standing at the sea of glass 
mingled with fire. The fire indicates the heat 
of tribulation through which they have passed. 
They have in their hands harps of gold and with 
joy sing the song of Moses and the Lamb, prais¬ 
ing the judgments of God with a loud voice. 
Apparently, however, they are not standing so 
high in dignity as those of Rev. 14. 

Again we notice also different degrees in the 
occupation of the blessed in the beyond. Rev. 
4:4-11, we have two classes of the blessed. The 
elders are described as taking part in adminis¬ 
tering divine judgment, and the nations are rep¬ 
resented by four living creatures, who assist in 
executing the judgments. Luke 19: 16-19 treat® 


21S 


Ral^Us of the Blessed. 

of the reward of grace and the oih.ces of the 
heavenly kingdom; Matt. 20: 1-17 has reference 
rather to the bliss of the redeemed in ’general, 
which is a free gift of grace which can not be 
earned. As far as that gift of grace is con¬ 
cerned, tJiey all receive an equal portion, i. e., 
redemption; in the reward of grace, on the other 
hand, we notice a difference, one receiving 
more, another less, according to their faithful¬ 
ness. It is clear that the Lord can in the be¬ 
yond entrust to us according as he found us 
faithful in this. 

As the blessedness must take its beginning 
already in this life, ’.the Lord assigns to those 
who are fully consecrated to him, their work or 
the office which they shall fill. The full author¬ 
ity, however, he will not give into our hands, 
because as long as we are on the earth, we are 
not found sufficiently capable and experienced 
for it. One thing is certain, if we are faithful 
with that which the Lord has entrusted to us, 
he will soon give more and he will delight in 
appointing us to the full dignity and authority 
of our office. 

When we meet him in the cloud, we are not 
entitled to make a claim for a royal office, but 
since it is revealed to us that such a dignity 
exists for children of God, we will in childlike 
gratitude humble ourselves before our God and 
ask him to make us faithful in all things. Per- 


^14 Outline oitr Fropheey. 

fectlyJioo3« of all things earthly, let us go oa 
fromjglory to glory until we shall in our celestial 
bodies appear in his likeness before him. 



CHAPTER XYHI, 


DaniePs Prophetic Chronology. 

(Dan. 9: 24-27.) 

24 Sieventy weeks are determined upon thy people and 
upon thy holy city, to llnish the transgreision, and to 
make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for 
iniquity, and brinj in everlasting: rip^hteousness, and to 
seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most 
Holy. 

25 Know therefore and understand, that from the 
Ifoing forth of the commandment to restore and to build 
Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven 
weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be 
built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. 

20 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah 
be cut off, but not for himself; and the people of the 
prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the 
sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and 
unto the end of the war desolations are determined. 

27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for 
one week; and in the midst of the week he shall cause the 
sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the over¬ 
spreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, 
even until the consummation,and that determined shall 
be poured upon the de^solate. 


216 


Outline on Prophecy. 


Daniel was a great statesman—the highest in 
office after the king, and a large portion of the 
administration of government rested upon him. 
Yet, however, with all the pressure of his work, 
he found sufficient time to search the Word of 
God, and above all, he found it possible, not 
only to lead a life of prayerful communion wdth 
his God, but to kneel down three times every 
day and'intercede for his people. • The ninih 
chapter gives us a glimpse of his life of prayer. 
Humbly he confesses his own sins and those of 
the people, having in his intercession for the 
latter principally a three!old aim in view; viz., 
first of all, pardon- for the sin of his people, 
acknowledging thereby that their captivity in 
Babylon was caused by sin, which must be 
removed before God can help them. 

The second point which he had in view was 
deliverance from captivity. From the writings 
of Jeremiah he knew that his people should for 
gfeventy years languish under the oppression of 
a foreign nation, and since the seventy years 
were now completed, he asked the Lord in 
earnest x)rayer to send deliverance. 

The sanctuary of Israel was the third object 
burdening his heart. He kiieTT that it had been 
destroyed, and prays that God himself may 
cause another sanctuary to be built for. them. 
A man like Daniel would find it impossible to 
give space to the thought that his people .should 


Fr^ophetic Chronology- ^17 

be restored again without having also their 
sanctuary restored in which God had promised 
to dwell. 

Verse 24, we have the answer of God to his 
prayer. That answer is sixfold, viz., 1. The 
transgression should be restrained (margin). 
2. An end of sins be made. 3. Keconciliation for 
iniquity be made. 4. To bring in ap everlasting 
righteousness. 5. Vision and prophecy sealed 
up. 6. The most holy place anointed (margin). 
God further reveals to him that the time for 
the fulfillment of all this would be seventy 
weeks. In verse 25, he divides these seventy 
weeks into three different periods which in¬ 
clude three distinct events of the history of the 
Jewish people. The first period comprises 
seven weeks, the second, sixty-two weeks, and 
the last period, one week. All Bible students 
agree that this has reference to year-weeks, 
each week comprising Seven years. The com¬ 
mentators do not all agree on the. date of the 
beginning of the seventy weeks, although 
the majority of them take verse 25 as. indicat¬ 
ing the beginning, where we have these words: 
“Know therefore and understand, that from 
the going forth of the commandment to restore 
and build Jerusalem..... .shall be seven 
weeks. ” It is believed that.this commandment 
was given under Artaxerxes in 457 B. C.. .Some 
suppose that the reference is to the time when 



Outline on Froplieci/, 

Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the 
walls, which was ten years later. It is not a 
matter of much concern to us to give here the 
exact time, since this has had its fulfillment 
and has in every particular come to pass accord¬ 
ing to the prediction of the prophet. 

In studying the prophet Nehemiah, we are 
impressed with the fact that the times were 
unfavorable and Nehemiah found it a difficult 
task to rebuild the city. Under severe exertion 
and self-denial the work was at last completed. 
The seven weeks of the first period comprise 
forty-nine years, and we believe their close to be 
coincident with the completion of the Old Testa ¬ 
ment Scriptures by the prophet Malachi who 
gave new revelations concerning the coming of 
the Lord, an event which should take place 
toward the close of the sixty-two year-weeks. 

The chronology of Daniel was sufficiently 
clear for the pious Jews who 'waited for the 
appearing of the Messiah. They knew when the 
time was fulfilled, as we may notice from the 
example of Simeon and Anna. In the divine 
answer to his prayer the prophet was further 
told that after sixty-two weeks Christ should be 
cut off, indicating that he should be put to death 
by the violent hand of the wicked. Through 
the death of the Messiah the first four promises 
of verse 24 find their fulfillment. First, transgres 
sion was restrained by the sacrificial death of our 


Frophetic Chron ol ogy, ^19 

Lord wkich was an earnest for the liual con¬ 
version of the Jews. If this transgression 
should not have been restrained, there would 
be for all future no hope for the Jewish people. 
Second, there was made an end of sins through 
this sacrificial death, for God administered 
mercy for judgment, forgiving sin for Christ’s 
sake. Third, reconciliation for iniquity was 
made through the Redeemer. Fourth, to bring 
in everlasting righteousness. It is evident that 
this righteousness is not yet manifest among 
them, although it has been obtained for them 
Calvary. 

Further, we read in our text (verse 26) of the 
destruction of Jerusalem, which was accom¬ 
plished by the Romans, how the city shall be 
devastated and the i)eople punished for their 
sins, having put to death the Messiah. 

If we inquire into the manner of the prophetic 
reckoning of God with his people, we notice 
that the Lord counts only that time during 
which he could acknowledge Israel as his peo¬ 
ple. This does not imply that they were in 
that time faithful in every particular, but that 
they were in a state in which the Lord could 
own them as his people and have a sanctuary 
in their midst. The rejection of Israel as a 
nation took place when they were led captive 
into Babel by Nebuchadnezzar. From that time 
on the Lord begins again to deal with the naticns 


220 Outline on Fropliecy. 

and their kings, as we see’clearly in Daniel, 
chapters 2 and 7. In chapter 2 it is revealed 
that the Lord inaugurated and dethroned kings, 
Daniel perceives that God had at thS.t time set 
aside the Jewish kings and, instead of them, 
enthroned heathen kings, giving them the 
power to reign over the world. At the cruci¬ 
fixion God set aside the Jewish people also as 
the messengers of salvation, that the second 
part of prophecy might be fulfilled. Prom then 
on they are no longer taken into consideration 
in the reckoning, until they will come to where 
they can say, “Blessed is he that cometh in 
the name of the Lord! ” 

Luke 21: 24, Jesus says that Jerusalem "shall 
be trodden down by the Gentiles until the times 
of the Gentiles be fulfilled. There is yet one 
week of the seventy left. This week, namely, 
the last week, is to bring something peculiarly 
important for Israel, and since the Lord is not 
yet sought by them and their time can conse¬ 
quently not be reckoned, it is evident that that 
week is yet in the future. We ask, therefore, in 
view of the above passage, When shall the 
time of the Gentiles be fulfilled? Have we any¬ 
thing in the Bible to give us particulars con¬ 
cerning the time when this is to take place? 
Before taking up this subject we would call 
attention to the fact that the reckoning of time 
in the prophecies of Daniel has reference to 


Prophetic Chronology. ^21 

what is still in the future for Israel, and we 
have seen that prophecies regarding the first 
two periods of the seventy weeks have been 
accurately fulfilled. When we now give a 
further reckoning from Daniel concerning the 
time when the last week shall be fulfilled, we 
do not wish to be understood as if we would 
make an attempt to come to a definite conclusion 
as to the time of the appearing of Jesus for his 
believers. There is no statement of that time 
given in the Bible and he who would set the 
time and hour for the coming of the Lord, 
ventures on insecure ground, having no right 
to such a presumption. As necessary as it is 
that the time of the end of his life shall remain 
unknown to man, even so necessary is it that 
the hour of the coming of the Son of man shall 
remain hidden to men. 

If, however, day and hour are hidden from 
signs and from the commotion which is notice¬ 
able among Israel, so much may be discerned 
that the time is very near. It may be possible 
that individual Christians may have special 
revelations or the inward conviction that they 
may just now look for the appearing of the 
Lord. Pious Simeon of old came by the 
leading of the Spirit into the temple where he 
found Jesus. It had been revealed to him by 
the Holy Ghost that he should not see death 
before he had seen the Christ. 


OitUine on Froj)hccij. 

The apostles Peter and Paul both had revela¬ 
tions in regard to their early departure from 
this earth, and so it may possibly be in the case 
of some believers as to the second coming of 
the Lord. That the last week of the seventy 
refers to the time when the Jews shall again 
become a nation, appears clear to us, and even 
the closing verses of our text contain hin. s con¬ 
cerning the latter days when, under Antichrist’s 
reign, the nations shall for the last time attempt 
to destroy Jerusalem in which they shall in part 
be successful. At that time the Jews shall 
again oft'er the daily sacrifice and Antichrist 
shall succeed to force his way into the Temple 
and prevent the offering of sacrifices. 

The subject intimated in verse 27, is Jigain 
taken up by Daniel in chapters 10 and 11. The 
prophet gives in the latter chapter a lengthy 
description of the tribulation which is to befah 
Israel in the la.st week. We have further found 
in previous passages that the Holy Scriptures 
testify that the appearing of Christ shall take 
place at the beginning of the reign of Anti¬ 
christ. We have also noticed that most of the 
signs are being fulfilled and that there is a 
commotion in Israel Avhich has for its object 
the restoration of the people into a nation. The 
seventieth week will begin when Israel is a 
kingdom in their own land. Since the signs 
in Dan. 4 have appeared, it will hardly be nec- 


Prophetic Chvonologij, MS 

essary to search the Scriptures further in order 
to ascertain when the times of the Gentiles 
shall be fulfilled. 

If, in times past, this one word of the Lord 
would have been taken into consideration, the 
shedding of streams of blood during the time of 
the crusades would have been avoided, for the 
Lord had not promised Jerusalem to the Chris¬ 
tians; it is, to the contrary, clearly taught in 
his Word that the heathen shall possess it until 
the time when he shall again give it to his peo¬ 
ple. If, in order to find when this shall be ful¬ 
filled, we wish to consider further the reckon¬ 
ing of time, the fourth chapter of Daniel will 
give us the desired explanations. 

Nebuchadnezzar was the first one of the hea¬ 
then kings whom God had inaugurated after the 
kings of Israel had been rejected. The time of 
the Gentiles shall continue until the stone 
which comes from the mountain shall strike the 
toes of the image 'svhich signifies the end of the 
Gentile government. When Nebuchadnezzar 
had become proud and ascribed the great power, 
with which the Lord had invested him, unto 
himself, he entered upon a state of insanity, 
which continued, as is generally believed, for 
seven years. Without dwelling longer on the 
nature of this sickness, we will refer the reader 
to Dan. 4: 29-32 and Lev. 26: 18-23. In Daniel 
it is stated that seven tiroes shall pass over him 


22 ^f. Outline on Prophecy. 

until help shall come. In Leviticus the Lord 
speaks to the people and tells them, if they 
should be disobedient he would punish them 
seven times more, or, in other words, punish 
and reject them during seven times. Here, also, 
most of the students of prophecy agree that in 
the language of prophecy each time of the 
seven comprises 360 days, i. e., prophetically, 
one day being counted for one year, conse¬ 
quently, each one of the seven times would com¬ 
prise 360 years. 

By Moses the Lord has deemed it best to 
reveal to his people that they shall be rejected 
during these seven times or for 2.520 years. So 
long it shall be until the time of the Gentiles 
shall be fulfilled and Israel shall have received 
a full measure of their punishment. The rejec¬ 
tion of Israel began at the time of the begin¬ 
ning of the Babylonian captivity, 585 B. C., if we 
add to this number 1900 years we have a total 
of 2485 years; accordingly, Israel would have to 
remain in dispersion among the nations for 
thirty-six years longer, until the time, according 
to Daniel’s prophecy, shall be fulfilled. 

Some commentators set the time when Neb¬ 
uchadnezzar annexed the Jews to his govern¬ 
ment'604 B. C., and believe that the Lord began 
at that time to deal with the Gentiles and since 
Israel was in bondage they were dismissed as 
God’s nation. 




















































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































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CHAPTER XIX. 

The Great Harvest for the Lord. 

(Ezek. 36: 23-32.) 

23 And I will sanctify mv great name, which was pro¬ 
faned among the heathen, which \e have profaned in the 
midst of them: and the heathen shall know that I am the 
Lord, saith the Lord God, when I shall be sanctihed in 
you before their eyes. 

24 For I will take you from among the heathen, and 
gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into 
your own land. 

25 Then will I sprinkle clean w’ater upon you, and ye 
shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all 
your idols, will I cleanse you. 

26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new' spirit 
will I put within you: and I will take awuiy the stony 
heart out of your flesh, and 1 will give you an heart of 
flesh. 

27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you 
to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, 
and do them. 

28 And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your 
fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your 
God. 


2^26 Outline on Frojjliecij. 

29 1 will also save you From all your uncleannesses: 
and I *111 call for the corn, and will increase it, and lay 
no famine upon you. 

30 And I will multiply the fruit of the tree, and the in¬ 
crease of the Field, that ye shall receive no more rex)roach 
of famine among the heathen. 

31 Then shall ye remember your own evil ways, and 
your doings that were not good, and shall loathe your¬ 
selves in your own sight-for your iniquities and for your 
abominations. 

32 Not for your sakes do I this, saith the Lord God, 
be it known unto you: be ashamed and confounded for 
your own ways, O house of Israel. 

We have with the chapters on the Restora¬ 
tion of Israel left this j^eople and directed our 
eye principally to the two other general sub¬ 
jects. In this chapter we come back to Israel 
and will take up the part of the promises which 
has reference to their conversion to the Lord 
after they have become a nation. The above 
quoted portion of Scripture gives us a clear 
description of their conversion that it hardly 
appears necessary to quote other Bible pas¬ 
sages. They shall be led back from among the 
Gentiles into their owm country, and the Lord 
shall sprinkle clean water upon them, i. e., pre¬ 
sent to them the Gospel menage. Further it 
is stated that they shall receive a new heart and 
a new spirit, that the Lord shall fill them with 
his owm spirit and they shall keep the statutes 
and judgments of the Lord. This, it may be 
arked, has Israel never done unto this day. 


The Great Harvest, 


2^7 


Id Hebrews 8, this new condition of things is 
designated as the ‘ new covenant” which the 
Lord intended to make with Israel, when the 
Word of the Lord shall be written in their 
hearts. Ezek. 37: 9-14 gives us further revela* 
tion concerning the conversion of Israel. In 
the first part of this prophecy, the reference is 
to the restoration of Israel as a nation, and in 
the second part the spiritually dead people be¬ 
come alive as a people of the Lord. Micah 7: 
18-20, this nation appears as one wdiose sins liave 
been forgiven and cast into the depth of the 
sea. From Daniel 9 it is evident that in the 
seventieth week the anointing of a sanctuary, 
called the Most Holy, shall take place foj- Israel. 
This anointing is the final act of the leslora* 
tion of the sanctuary and has reference to the 
dedication of the same and the fullness of the 
Spirit dwelling in it. The term Most Holy is 
chosen because of the indwelling of God. Israel 
having become a converted nation. In the 
Most Holy of the sanctuary the Lord d welled, 
and in the millennium Israel shall be consec rated 
to God in such a measure that their i>i’h\sthood 
shall be called the Most Holy in which tlio Lord 
d Welle th. 

The prophet Zechariah, in speaking of this 
time at the conclusion of his prophecy, describes 
the holiness of Israel as so complete that all 
pots of Judah and Jerusalem shall be h< ]y unto 


228 Outline on Prophecy. 

the Lord, and even on the bells of the horses 
shall be engraved the words, “Holiness unto the 
Lord.” (Zech. 14: 20, 21.) 

Daniel says further that prophecy shall then 
be sealed, or in other words, reach its limit. 
This is as far as all the prophets were permitted 
to look; with the millennium, however, and the 
conversion of Israel, their predictions, for the 
most part, come to a closing point. 

Zech. 13: 8, 9 represents the people as passing 
through a process of purifying in which two- 
thirds of them are destroyed and only one-third 
remain as tried gold. 

Zech. 12: 10-14, we have further explanations 
concerning the way and manner of the conver¬ 
sion of Israel. The Lord promises that he will 
pour out upon them the spirit of grace and sup¬ 
plication, and proceeds to show how thorough 
shall be the repentance of Israel. They shall in 
the moment when the spirit of grace shall be 
poured out upon them, look upon him whom 
they have pierced and shall mourn for him, 
every tribe and every house apart, and the 
women also shall have a particular place where 
they shall wail for him whom they have re¬ 
jected. 

These verses give us a glimpse of the Geth- 
semane of the bride Israel, and remind us how 
in Gethsemane, forsaken by his disciples, he 
trod the winepress alone. Before Israel shall 


The Great Harvest. 


mo 


enter into higher relation with him, they have 
to taste the cup of suffering. 

This brings us to the passage, 2 Cor. 3: 15-17, 
where Paul says that Israel has, till the present 
day, the veil of Moses upon their heart; when 
they, however, are converted, the veil shall be 
taken away. The apostle foresaw the time 
when the Lord shall pour out on them the spir¬ 
it of grace, and that thereby the veil of Moses 
shall be removed. 

In the eleventh chapter of Romans, Paul fore¬ 
sees the conversion of Israel. He says: ^‘There 
shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall 
turn away ungodliness from Jacob; for this is 
my covenant unto them when I shall take away 
their sins. ” Both Paul and Daniel give us pro¬ 
found glances of the restoration of Israel into 
the covenant of grace. When we consider the 
love of these men for their people, it is easy for 
us to comprehend why the Lord granted to 
these his servants so much light concerning the 
future of Israel. In his sympathy for his peo¬ 
ple, Paul goes so far as to desire that he might 
be accursed, if by that he could bring deliverance 
from sin to them. We see Daniel on his knees 
in prayer for his people, wrestling with God 
for their deliverance. If we wish to understand 
Scriptural prophecy, the one thing necessary 
for us is to pray with all earnestness for the 
l^eople of Israel and their welfare. The time 


2S0 Outline on rrophecy. 

of this con 7 ersion of Israel is not clearly stated 
in the Holy Scriptures, yeb, in most of the pro¬ 
phetic passages that event is connected with 
their restoration as a nation, and we have there¬ 
fore sufficient reason to hold that the conversion 
shall follow soon after their restoration. 

They shall, as we have seen, in part be con¬ 
quered by Antichrist, but the Lord himself shall 
finally come to their rescue and give them vic¬ 
tory over the nations. At that moment they 
shall see him whom they have pierced and shall 
recognize him as the true Messiah. At any 
event repentance and contrition must have been 
effected in them beforehand, after they have 
been put to shame in their own Messiah, he 
having turned out to be Antichrist. 

ISRAEL AS A MISSIONARY PEOPLE. 

If we give our attention to the evangelical 
period and consider the commandment of the 
Lord to his disciples, we find that the present 
time is not calculated to be the epoch in which 
great multitudes shall be saved. According to 
the words of Jesus, they shall preach the Gos¬ 
pel to all nations for a witness unto them. The 
apostle Paul says that the Gospel shall be of¬ 
fered to the Gtntiles until the fullness of the 
election is come. Our time is one in which 
the Lord effects an election of messengers of 
salvation in Israel’s stead, and this period is 
rather looked upon as the time of the firstfruits. 


The Great Harvest, 2ol 

The greiit harvest of Israel and the nations 
shall take place in the millennium. With the 
time of Antichrist’s reign, the dispensation of 
the Christian church shall find its conclusion, 
and Israel shall, as we have seen above, after 
their conversion become a missionary people, 
and as such carry the tidings of salvation to the 
Gentiles; then, indeed, shall the Word, John 4: 
22, be truly fulfilled, “Salvation is of the Jews.” 

Rom. 11: 12, the apostle says that their fall is 
the riches of the world; how much more shall 
this prove the case after their number has be¬ 
come f ull. If it was a blessing to be ingrafted 
as messengers of salvation in Israel’s stead, 
what a blessing shall it be for the nations when 
the promise given to Israel, Ex. 19, shall be ful¬ 
filled. 

Isaiah speaks allegorically of this conversion 
of the Gentiles through the messengers of 
Israel. (Is. 66: 19-22; 42: 6, 7.) 

THE CONVERSION OP THE NATIONS. 

In glowing colors is the conversion of the 
nations, which is to be accomplished during the 
millennium, painted by the prophets. Is. 49: 
14—23 begins once more with the conversion of 
Israel, then he calls upon the bride Israel to 
lift up the eyes and behold the Gentiles coming 
from all directions and turning to their God; 
and that many sons and daughters are brought 
up at their side. Is. 60: 1-20, we have a wonder- 


2S'2 


Outline on Propliecij^ 


ful description of the conversion of the nations 
which shall come to Jerusalem to do homage to 
the Lord. We see there a full harvest accom¬ 
plished by the preaching of the Gospel. 

Zech. 14: 16-18 states that all nations shall 
come bo Jerusalem yearly to celebrate the festi¬ 
vals of the Lord. Psalm 22: 28-32, we read that 
all the ends of the earth shall be converted to 
the Lord and all the kindreds of the nations 
shall worship before him. We can readily com¬ 
prehend that the spreading of the Gosjiel will 
then be carried on to an extent as never before 
known. Satan will be bound, so that he can no 
longer by his diabolic plans destroy the scat¬ 
tered seed. Further, it is evident that the power 
of God shall be present not only in a church 
but in a sanctified nation. From Jerusalem 
shall proceed a power as is indicated by the 
golden candlesticks of Zech. 4. The Jews, as 
the missionary people, s'lall be baptized with 
the Holy Ghost and shall go forth in the 
strength of the Lord as the apostle Paul. When 
we think of only one hundred thousand mission¬ 
aries in the field, having the zeal for the Mas¬ 
ter as Paul, how quickly that promise shall be 
accomplished that there shall be one flock and 
one shepherd. Should this not be possible in the 
millennium when the least one in Israel shall be 
as the house of David, and the house of David 
as God. Every means shall be at the disposal 


2 he Great Harvest. 2SS 

of Israel, and the nations themselves shall 
come to Jerusalem to see the glory of the Lord. 
What a difference from the present condition. 
Rightly do our mission workers complain 
that there is not sufficient power of prayer to 
hold them up, and that wherever the so-called 
Christian traders come in contact with the hea¬ 
then, it is well-nigh impossible to bring them 
the Gospel, since those people plant among 
them all kinds of unrighteousness and sin. If 
we consider only the rum traffic, the English 
opium traffic, and the lewdness of man/ nom¬ 
inal Christians who live among heathen nations, 
we are not surprised at the slow' progress 
of the Gospel. It is moreover not unknown to 
the heathen how godless are the so-called Chris¬ 
tian nations in our day and what atrocious sins 
are at vogue in nominal Coristeudom. 

“In Otto Hubner’s “Statistische Tabellen”for 
1897, Professor von Juraschek, Austrian Court 
Chancellor, and Fellow of the London Royal 
Statistical Society, gives the population of the 
globe, from the most recent official sources, as 
1,535,000,000, or 23,000,000 more than in 1896. 
Of this increase, 7.5 per cent, belongs to Africa, 
6.5 to Asia, 5.7 to Europe, 3.2 to the Americas. 
The population of Asia is 752,000,000, of Africa, 
265,000,000, of Europe, 378,000,000, of the Amer¬ 
icas, 140,000,000. During 1896 the United States 
increased over 2,000,000; its population now 


23^ Outline on Prophecy, 

75,000,000. Kussia increased over 8,000,000; its 
population now 135,000,000. The total Euro¬ 
pean population is 378,000,000, or one-fourth 
that of the globe. Allowing 500,000,000 as 
nominally Christian, 1,035,000,000 remain for 
heathendom. China’s population is 345,000,000, 
India’s 296,000,000, Japan’s 45,000,000. Great 
Britain rules over 382,000,000 of the human 
race. 

“The military aspect of Nineteenth Century 
Christendom is not without its significance for 
those who raise the question, “Is the world 
growing better?” If disorder, blood, murder, 
massacre, swords, bayonets, guns, torpedoes, 
dynamite, armies and navies are evidence of 
moral improvement, and the fruit of Christian 
civilization, the world is on the rapid road to 
perfection. Great Britain, population 39,000,- 
000 at home, has an army of 220,000 men, besides 
an Indian army of 166,000, Volunteers 261,000, 
Militia 145,800, Reserves 76,800; total, 869,594, 
with a fleet of 854 war vessels carrying 2,564 
guns. At the Victoria Jubilee her fleet ex¬ 
tended five miles, four lines deep, not a vessel 
called in from any foreign station. Her naval 
expenditure, 1897, was $38,500,000, augmented 
for 1898 by $127,750,000. Russia, population 
135,000,000, has a present army of 4,679,000, a 
“prospective” army of 12,000,000, a fleet of 265 
vessels and 1,600 guns. France, population, 


The Great Hai‘vei<t. 


^35 


38,520,000, ruling 80,000,000, has an army of 
4,300,000 and a fleet of 135 vessels, 3,876 guns. 
The combined expenditure of Russia and France 
for naval purposes in 1897 was $26,055,000, aug¬ 
mented in 1897-98 by $100,000,000, the budgets 
constantly increasing, as is the case with all the 
Powers. Germany, population 52,000,000, has 
an army of 4,300,000 and a fleet of 190 vessels, 
1,460 guns. Austro-Hungary, population 44,- 
900,000, has an army of 2,076,000, and a fleet of 
142 vessels, guns 772. Spain, population 27,- 
000,000, has an army of 600,000 men and a fleet 
of 130 vessels, 654 guns, both increasing. Por¬ 
tugal, population 19,320,000, has an army of 
154,000 and a fleet of 34 vessels, 131 guns. 
Italy, population 31,290,000, has an army of 
3,473,000 and a fleet of 341 vessels, guns 1,742. 
Holland, population 38,307,000, has an army of 
888,000, a fleet of 130 vessels, 669 guns. Den¬ 
mark, Sweden-Norway and Belgium, total pop¬ 
ulation 15,670,000, have together an army of 
857,000 men, with 146 vessels, guns 957. These 
nominally “Christian Powers,” great and small, 
have together an army of 20,196,594 trained 
men, 2,187 ships of war, with 14,385 guns, all 
powerless by reason of their rivalries, greed, 
jealousies, mutual fear, international law, and 
‘ ‘Concert of the Pov/ers,” to restrain the Turk 
fr om his atrocities, or compel Spain to desist 
from her even greater ciimes. 


2S6 OidMiie on Prophecy. 

“In face of the cries of outraged humanity, 
carnage, atrocities and crimes, whose mention 
makes the blood run cold, the governments of 
earth, ruled by the gangrened politicians of the 
day in league with Mammon, and hypocritically 
pleading “Peace,” and “Christian Principles,” 
refuse to intervene in behalf of the downtrodden 
and oppressed, unless their “business interests” 
are endangered, or the threatened loss of party 
and of power compels their action. The idol 
they worship is selfishness, their policy high 
treason to God, their country, and humanity, 
to righteousness and truth, to justic?, liberty 
and mercy. 

“The excuse for inaction confronts the fearful 
situation in the Old World, and retards the de¬ 
liverance of the Christian nationalities from the 
Ottoman yoke, and the repossession of his land 
by the Jews. Military Christendom stands pow¬ 
erless to execute justice and judgment, by rea¬ 
son of its selfishness and fear. England rules 
290,000,000 of Asiatics, among which her sceptre 
covers 78,000,000 of Mohammedans, whose good 
will is important for her “business interests.” 
Other powers are similarly related to the Moslem 
world, whose total population is 272,000,000, 
spread over India, China, Turkey, Egypt, Ara¬ 
bia, Africa and other places. Of these, 78,000,- 
000 are under the British flag, bound together 
by an antichristian faith, all regarding England 


The Great Harvest. 


237 


now as their foe, Russia and Prance as their 
friend. Under China there are 40,000,000; un¬ 
der Russia, 20,000,000; under Holland, 20,000,- 
000; under France, 4,000,000. The Moslem 
knows that the “Concert of Europe” is a mere 
device to stave off the settlement of the Eastern 
Question, until the opportune moment arrives 
to divide his bankrupt estate among the “Pow¬ 
ers, ” and that, while professing friendship for 
the Turk, Russia’s aim is Constantinople, the 
revival of the old Eastern Empire, and the sway 
of Asia; England resisting the policy, yet nurs¬ 
ing another, viz., the repossession of Palestine 
by the Jews, the defeat of Russian influence in 
the East, and the increase of her own empire. 
He knows that the “integrity of the Ottoman 
empire” is necessary to the “Peace of Europe” 
and the “Balance of Power,” and plays off one 
Power against another, and, so, is master of the 
occasion, and occasion of the “deadlock” of the 
Powers in any movement for the liberation of 
peoples oppressed by his tyranny. He concil¬ 
iates the Jew to strengthen his fnances, and 
oppose th:; policy of “Christian Europe” in any 
attempt to crowd his empire. England, Queen 
of the seas, and Russia, lord of the land, both 
bid for his sympathy and influence in the East, 
each opposii^g the other. 

“The object of Europe is the partition of Asia 
and Africa, each Power envious of the other. 


Oililuw on Pvophecij. 


2S8 


England stands alone in her “splendid isola¬ 
tion, ” checkmated in any moment for liberty, 
humanity and justice among the oppressed na¬ 
tions. She has lived to repent of the Crimean 
War, seen the Turk alienated from her and em¬ 
braced by Russia, witnessed a “Triple Alliance” 
against her, the alliance also cf Russia and 
France, the estrangement of Germany, the con¬ 
trol of China by Russia, and the disapproval of 
her Egyptian and African policy. Germany 
hates France, as France hates Germany, and 
Russia dreads England, as England dreads 
Russia. The elfect of the total situation is that 
“Christian Europe,” so-called, maintains itself 
by force of arms, and not by spiritual ideas, nor 
by a law of righteousness, so that a military 
force of 20,196,591 trained soldiers and a navy 
of 2,187 ves.sels, guns 14,285, are impotent to 
suppress the Turk. Hence, the revival and 
reunion of all Islam, and the projected combina¬ 
tion of the Moslem and the Jew. 

“What changes in alliances will occur, he may 
tell who can trace the way of an eagle in the 
air, or of a serpent on a rock. The Russo- 
French alliance has a double face of war and 
peace; of peace as a counterpoise to the pre¬ 
ponderance of German influence in Europe; of 
war as a dream of the reconquest of the Rhine 
provinces by France. Germany, Austria and 
Russia stand for despotic rule, and the repres- 


The Great Harvest. 


289 


sion of democratic freedom. England, Italy 
and France stand for liberty; all pushing into 
the East and South for acquisition of wealth 
and power,—the Moslem and the Jew, the ones 
with whom they all must reckon. The crisis 
cannot long be delayed. England, with all her 
faults, cannot long remain in isolation. Will 
the three great northern military Powers stand 
pitted against the three southern and Mediter¬ 
ranean naval Powers? Will Framie go to Eng¬ 
land, forsaking Russia? Will Greece go to 
Russia or to England, or to France, when the 
crisis comes? Three options remain to England: 
(1) To unite with the “Triple Alliance,” (2) to 
unite with France and Russia, bringing in Japan 
as her ally, (3) to conciliate the Turk, break 
his alliance with Russia, unite with Japan and 
France, and, maintaining friendship with Per¬ 
sia and Afghanistan, seek the‘Reform’ ’ of the 
Moslem, and promote the interest of the Jew. 
And the probability is that of a general break 
in the whole diplomacy of Europe, when the 
time comes for the last struggle, with the Turk 
ever irreformable, and alliances such as the 
shrewdest diplomats have deemed impossible— 
a chaos of politics, Anti-Semitism here, Anti- 
Islam there, Anti-Slavism here, Anti-Hellenism 
there. Antichrist and Antichristianity every¬ 
where! God alone can solve the World’s Prob¬ 
lem. Righteousness and peace come only 


^JjO Outline on Prophecy, 

through the judgment of the nations.”— Rev. 
J^athaniel West. 

At the time when the Jews shall go forth as 
a missionary people, all Palestine shall be a 
holy country; the heathen who shall come from 
all ends of the earth shall be overwhelmed by 
tne power of God, and they shall, like the queen 
of Arabia, be compelled to say that they nave 
found much more than they expected. 

At that time Satan shall be bound, so he can 
not hinder the spreading of the Gospel and use 
ungodly men and women to usurp the cause of 
God, but the Gospel shall go from pole to pole, 
and from sea to sea without any hindrance in 
the power of the Holy Spirit. Men shall be 
converted by the thousands and millions. The 
radiating beams of Calvary shall illuminate the 
ends of the earth. This will be the great 
harvest of the nations in our dispensation, 
the first-fruit for the body of Christ is gathered 
out. The first-fruits of Israel were gathered 
out in the first seven years of the apostolic time; 
the harvest of Israel will begin when the Lord 
comes to Jerusalem to smite Antichrist. This 
will be the time when a nation shall be con¬ 
verted in one day as the prophet says. As the 
sanctified church is the spiritual bride or the 
body of Christ, Israel is the earthly bride, i. e., 
the bride in the mortal body; and as they as a 
nation will be converted, then the great marriage 


The Great Harvest- 




feast shall begin which shall last a thousand 
years. As Israel were the first missionary 
messengers of the Gospel to select the first- 
fruits of the Gentiles, so they will be the first 
messengers to gather the great harvest of the 
Gentiles. As the Gentiles joined in and carried 
on the great Gospel message to select the first- 
fruits out of the Gentiles, so will those that are 
converted in the millennium join in and help 
gather the great harvest of the Lord. 

The glory of Jerusalem shall within a short 
time be spread to the ends of the earth, and 
wherever missionary workers may come, God 
will have prepared the way for them. In a 
short time the earth shall be full of the knowl¬ 
edge of the Lord. It affords us joy to think 
that the kingdoms shall soon be of our God and 
that to the cross shall be the victory. 


CHAPTER XX. 


The Millennium. 

(Is. 32: 1-5; Is. 35: l-IO.) 

1 Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and 
princes shall rule in judgment. 

2 And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, 
and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a 
dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land. 

3 And the eyes of them that see shall not be dim, and 
the ears of them that hear shall hearken. 

4 The heart also of the rash shall understand knowl¬ 
edge, and the tongue of the stammerers shall be ready 
to speak plainly. 

5 The vile person shall be no more called liberal, nor 
the churl said to be bountiful. 

1 The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad 
for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as 
the rose. 

2 It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with 
joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given 
\mto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall 
see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of our God. 

3 Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble 
knees. 









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THE KINGDOM OF PEACE 










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The Millennium. 


243 

4 Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, 
fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, 
even God with a recompense; he will come and save you. 

5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the 
ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. 

6 Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the 
tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall 
waters break out, and streams in the desert. 

7 And the parched ground shall become a pool, and 
the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of 
dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and 
rushes. 

8 And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it 
shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall 
not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring 
men, though fools, shall not err therein. 

9 No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall 
go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the 
redeemed shall walk there. 

10 And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and 
come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their 
heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow 
and sighing shall flee away. 

By the millennium we understand the thousand 
years of the reign of Christ over his people, and 
the time when Satan shall be bound (Rev. 20: 
1-6). The believers shall be caught up to meet 
the Lord in the cloud of heaven, and this is to 
take place at the beginning of the reign of 
Antichrist. They shall be with him on high 
until the time of Antichrist be fulfilled, whence 
they shall come down with the Lord near to tlie 
earth, or even upon the earth (Jude 14, 15),to 


Outline on Prophecy. 

pass judgment over Antichrist and win the 
victory for the people of God, the Jews, over 
the nations. 

We have in the Holy Scriptures no definite 
statement to the effect that Christ shall during 
the thousand years dwell upon the earth, only 
this is clear, that he shall reign, for which, 
however, his personal presence is not uncon¬ 
ditionally required. As he reigns now over 
the believers through his Word and his Spirit, 
even so may it be during the millennium. His 
Word and representatives who are fully con¬ 
secrated to him may reign for him and admin¬ 
ister government in accordance with his will. 
To the believers who are faithful is the promise 
that they shall, according to their faithfulness, 
rule over ten or five cities, and this also may be 
done through faithful representatives. 

We must not lose sight of the Word that the 
Jewish people shall be the leaders in the mil¬ 
lennium and the nations shall under their lead¬ 
ing be won for tlie truth of God. Neither must 
we suppose that within a few years the whole 
world should enjoy the full and complete bless¬ 
ings of the millennium; it may be supposed that 
perhaps a century will pass before that shall 
be realized, and during the whole period of 
thousand years shall the presence and power 
of God nowhere be as strong as in Jerusalem. 
We believe that the believers, who reign with 


The M illeiniium. 


245 

Christ and have before the millennium received 
the new body, shall occupy a higher position 
than the Jews who shall through Christ serve 
in the priestly office. We are of the opinion 
that they shall through the thousand years 
dwell with Christ in the new Jerusalem which 
shall be on high, above the old Holy City. 
When Christ shall come for the believers, the 
new Jerusalem shall descend with him and shall 
serve as the place of abode for the believers 
until the earth be completely renewed. The 
supposition that they shall during the thousand 
years come with Christ upon the earth as vis¬ 
itors, as the Lord came to our first parents in 
Paradise, stands without any arg ument to the 
contrary. This, however, is simply a thought 
which suggests itself from the comparison of 
different portions of prophecy. 

We will now pass to a number of events which 
shall take place upon earth during the thousand 
years. 

1. Jerusalem shall be rebuilt, and indeed on 
a larger scale than ever before. Ezek. 36:33-38, 
it is described how the cities of Judah shall be 
built again and how the whole country, which in 
places has well-nigh become a wilderness, is to 
be changed into a garden of the Lord. Jer. 31: 
38-40 gives us a description of the rebuilding 
and extension of the city of Jerusalem. The 
spirit of prophecy shows us here in what manner 


2li6 Outline on Prophecy. 

the city is to be enlarged, and that the old Jeru¬ 
salem is small in comparison with what the city 
shall be in the millennium. 

2. The geographical alternation of the 
country. According to the teaching of God’s 
Word this earth shall undergo a great revolu¬ 
tion at the time of the coming of the Lord. Is. 
35: 6, 7, it is stated that the parched wilderness 
shall become a fertile valley and where the land 
was arid there shall be springs and beautiful 
pools. Verses 1 and 2 describe the adornment 
of the country and that the wilderness has been 
changed into a flower garden. 

According to Ezek. 38: 19, 20, a great change 
shall take place in the country. Compare 
also Rev. 16: 20. One of the clearest descrip¬ 
tions regarding the geographical changes is 
given us in Zech. 14: 4-9. It is showm there 
that in the moment when the Son of God shall 
set his holy feet on the Mount of Olives, the 
mount shall cleave in the midst thereof, one 
part going toward the north and the other 
toward the south. Through this opening shall 
flow a beautiful river, which shall form a con¬ 
nection between the so-called Dead Sea and the 
Mediterranean. Jerusalem shall be accessible 
by a waterway, which appears to be necessary 
to facilitate travel and intercourse between the 
nations during the millennium. 

According to Is. 30: 25, the dry country of 


The Millennium. 2^7 

Palestine shall become so abounding in water 
that on all hills shall flow brooks and streams 
of water. Israel had been a dry people and 
also dwelled in a dry land, i. e., upon the 
mountains and hills. In time to come they 
shall as a people be filled with the Spirit and 
their mountains shall abound in springs and 
streams. 

3. The productiveness of the earth. The 
valleys of Palestine have always been fertile 
except in times of drought. Psalm 72:16 shows 
us how the heights of the mountains shall in 
time to come be covered with fruit. Is. 30: 
23, 24, we have another description of the pro¬ 
ductiveness of the country. The prophet Joel 
says that at that time the mountains shall be 
full of wine and the hills shall flow with milk. 
He sees a new stream flowing from the house of 
the Lord and watering the valley of Shittim. 
Further he sees all trees bearing their fruit, 
and that “the floors shall be full of wheat, and 
the fats shall overflow with wine and oil.” What 
the army of the enemy and the grasshoppers 
have destroyed shall be restored (Joel 2: 18-26). 
Ezek. 36: 29, 30 promises to Israel the bless¬ 
ings of the country after their conversion. 
Amos foretells how the ploughman shall over¬ 
take the reaper, i. e., while the one is yet i)low- 
ing the other is already engaged in rear ing. 
He also sees that the mountains drop sweet wine 



2Jf8 Outline on Fropheey. 

and the hills are overflowing (Amos 9: 13-15). 

4. The former and latter rain. According 
to Ezek. 34: 26 the Lord shall send them rain 
at the right time. Joel says that Israel shall 
shout and be joyful, because the Lord will give 
them an abundance of fruit and the former 
and latter rain in due time. 

In Palestine the harvest is dependent on these 
two seasons of rain, namely, the one in spring, 
at seed time, and the other before harvest, 
enabling the fruits to ripen. In the past it has 
often been the case that rain was withheld, 
because the Lord had to punish the people for 
their sin. In the millennium both the former 
and the latter rain will yearly come in the 
proper season. 

5. The peaceful disposition of the animal 
world during the millennium. Ezek. 34: 25, 
the Lord promises unto his people a covenant 
of peace that they may even in the forests 
sleep securely, since he will destroy the evil 
beasts. According to this it will with animals 
be similar as with mankind. The creatures 
which are not yearning for the liberty of the 
children of God (Rom. 8) and refuse to be tamed 
shall be destroyed by the hand of the Lord. So 
it shall be also with mankind; those who with 
Antichrist will rise against the Lord and refuse 
to have part in the millennium shall perish in 
the great day of the battle of the Lord. Is. 11: 


The Millennium, 249 

6-9, we have further description of the peace¬ 
ableness of animals: bears and cows shall feed 
together, the lion shall eat straw and a sucking 
child shall play on the hole of the asp and 
the weaned child shall put his hand on the 
cockatrice’ den. 

According to Is. 65: 25, the wolf and the lamb 
shall feed together, the lion shall eat straw 
like the bullock, and even the serpent shall be 
contented with the dust of the earth. We are 
well aware that those who would spiritualize 
everything and who fail to see the great victory 
of Calvary, have here the interpretation that 
the lions and the bears who dwell in the natural 
heart of man shall be tamed. When they come 
to Rev. 20, they say that the devil is now bound 
through the blood of Christ, while Peter says 
that he goes about like a roaring lion seeking 
whom he may devour. The apostle Paul writes 
to the Corinthians and Ephesians that the devil 
is the god of this world. Rev. 20: 7, we read 
that Satan shall yet be loosed. If he, in the 
opinion of these people, is now bound and can, 
notwithstanding, do such a work of destruction, 
what then shall it be when he will be loose! 
If the blood of Christ is binding him now, there 
vrould according to their idea have to come a 
time when the blood of Christ would become 
pov/erless. It is true, the prophets often make 
use of figurative language; in most instances. 


250 Outline on Prophecy, 

however, when this is the case, it is so indi¬ 
cated. If we should treat the Gospels as those 
interpreters do the prophets, we should very soon 
find ourselves on the principles of Sweden- 
borgianism and our own ground would give 
way. 

6. Peace among the nations. Through the 
judgment over Antichrist everything in enmity 
against God shall be put away, and since Satan 
shall be bound and God manifests himself in 
power, the result will be a state of peace among 
the nations which is described in beautiful 
colors. 

Is. 2: 4 and Micha 4: 3 show us that the weap¬ 
ons of war shall be turned into plowshares: 
neither shall nations learn war any more. 

Is. 32: 16-18 describes beautifully the pro¬ 
found peace which shall be like a river where 
security and joyous quietness are supreme. 
Ps. 85: 10, we read that mercy and truth will 
meet together; righteousness and peace will 
kiss each other. What a vast difference between 
the condition described here, and what we have 
before our eyes to-day. Then shall the poor 
no longer be oppressed or their property taken 
from them by dishonest methods; no longer 
shall it be necessary to guard against the jirac- 
tice of deceit in the Chamber of Commerce. 
Every one shall then not only seek his own wel¬ 
fare but that of his brother as well. 


The Millennium, 


251 


7. Joy instead of weeping. So few cheerful 
men and women are found in our day, even 
among the rich who have at their disposal 
everything that the world can offer. Every¬ 
where is found more of weeping and complaint 
than of thanksgiving and praise; the sad traces 
of sin are manifest in all circles of society. 
Our text, Is. 35, concludes with an expression of 
the joy of the redeemed: They come to Zion with 
songs and everlasting joy upon their heads, 
they shall overflow with joy and gladness. 

Is. 65:19, the prophet sees Jerusalem rejoic¬ 
ing and predicts that the voice of weeping shall 
be heard no more. Ps. 100 begins with the 
words, “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord all 
ye lands,” and the whole Psalm describes the 
joyous conditions of the millennium. 

8. Divine government shall prevail. Is. 32: 
1-5 gives us a beautiful picture of this divine 
government, where a king shall reign in right¬ 
eousness and princes shall rule to administer 
judgment. Verse 2 describes these princes 
and what a blessing they shall be for the peo¬ 
ple—the opposite of those officers of our day 
who have become like vampires and ravenous 
beasts. In the millennium these princes shall 
be as a hiding place from the wind. We will 
readily grasp the meaning of this picture when 
on a severely cold day we are overtaken by a 
storm and are longing for a place of shelter. 


252 Outline on Prophecy. 

The prophet sees further that these princes will 
represent two sources of blessing for the peo¬ 
ple. First, he speaks of them as rivers of water 
in a dry place, and then, as the shade of a great 
rock in a dry land. No shade is so refreshing 
as that of a rock. 

From other passages, as Micah 4: 7, 8; Ezek. 
34: 11-16; Zech. 14: 9, we see that the Lord him¬ 
self assumes the government, and the princes 
are his representatives, similarly as it w^as the 
order of God at the time of the Judges. 

Ezek. 37: 25, Hos. 3: 5, and other passages 
represent David as taking charge of the govern¬ 
ment. It is evident that David is mentioned 
here as a type, since he reigned more according 
to God’s own heart than any other king and he 
is most frequently represented as a type of the 
Messiah. Some are of the opinion that David shall 
in the millennium be inaugurated by the Lord 
to administer the government. This point is of 
comparatively little consequence to us, suffice 
it to know that the Lord himself will truly be 
the one who shall hold the reins of government 
in his hands. 

9. The Word of God is the basis of the law in 
the millennium. Israel of old was a nation as 
well as a church. In the books of Moses we 
find very many precepts which have reference 
rather to national government than to spiritual 
economy. In other parts of the Old Testament 


The Millennium, 


25S 

also we have many passages which give direc¬ 
tions regarding the national household. So it 
shall also be in the millennium. The Word of 
God shall be the basis for all governmental 
actions. (Micah 4:1, 2; Is. 2: 2, 3; Ps. 85: 12-15.) 

10. The duration of human life and the puri¬ 
fication of the atmosphere. In the first periods 
after creation, man reached the great age of 
nearly one thousand years. As a consequence of 
sin, the duration of life has been shortened, so 
that already in Israel’s time it did not exceed 
seventy to eighty years. 

According to Is. 65: 20-23, man shall in the 
millennium again reach the full age. Men of one 
hundred years are described as youths, and the 
Lord says that the days of people shall be as 
the days of trees. The average age of trees is 
estimated at one thousand years. According 
to this it would be possible for men to live 
through the whole millennium, and we have no 
reason to suppose that this should be otherwise 
since sin has been taken away. 

Is. 30: 29, describes to us the firmament. The 
light of the moon shall be as the light of the 
sun and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold. 

According to Eph. 6: 12, the atmosphere of 
the earth is full of unclean spirits. It is evident 
that they shall go with Satan into the abyss for 
the thousand years, and even the vermin shall 
be no more. 


25Jf Outline on Prophecy, 

These are a few thoughts as to the glor y of 
the millennium. When we draw a comparison 
between the present condition of things and 
what it then shall be, we find a difference as of 
a dark, stormy November evening and a beauti¬ 
ful spring day. We rejoice that at evening time 
it shall be light. And since we are in the last 
hour, we see even now in the spirit the radiant 
morning of that beautiful new creation. 


CHAPTER XXI. 


The Judgment of the Nations and the 
Final Judgment. 

(Rev. 20: 7-15.) 

7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan 
shall be loosed out of his prison, 

8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in 
the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather 
them together to battle: the number of whom is as the 
sand of the sea. 

9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and 
compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved 
city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and 
devoured them. 

10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the 
lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false 
prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for 
ever and ever. 

11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat 
on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled 
away; and there was found no place for them. 

12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before 
God; and the books were opened: and another book was 
opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were 


256 Outline on Prophecy. 

judged out of those things which were written in the 
books, according to their works. 

13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and 
death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: 
and they were judged every man according to their works. 

14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. 
This is the second death. 

15 And whosoever was not found written in the book 
of life was cast into the lake of fire. 

After one thousand years the devil, the old 
serpent, shall once more be permitted to leave 
his prison and come back to the earth; and he 
shall go about his pernicious work with more 
determination than ever before. We read in the 
above passage that after a thousand years he 
shall be loosed out of his prison and that he 
shall not be hindered in his purpose to tempt 
the nations in order to deceive them. What 
length of time shall intervene from the close of 
the millennium to the full regeneration of the 
earth is not stated in the Bible, it is only said 
that the time is short and that even Satan know’s 
that he has but little time. This time his 
assaults are not directed immediately against 
the Jews; the Lord shall then have in them such 
a work of grace that the devil knows he can 
not deceive them. His assaults are directed 
against the nations and we are indeed aston¬ 
ished at his great success. (Verses 8 and 9.) 
A great multitude of those who have lived in 
the millennium shall follow his insinuations 





THE FULLVICTORY OF CALVARY 







Judgment, 257 

and shall fall as Adam and Eve and become 
subjects of the prince of darkness. 

Two questions present themselves here, 
namely, first, why the Lord will not prevent 
that they shall again be tempted, and second, 
how it is possible that after having lived in the 
millennium under divine government they shall, 
notwithstanding, ^eave the service of God and 
enter the kingdom of darkness. 

To the first question our reply is that only 
such can have part in the kingdom of God who 
have reached a degree of faith which will 
enable them to endure trial and temptation. 
Without trial it is impossible that man should 
become a fit subject for the inheritance of 
eternal bliss, only in being tried it becomes 
evident what may be hid in the heart of man. 
The backsliding of so many shows that their 
relation to God has never been right, and we see 
even in Gog and Magog the necessity of the 
devil being loosed. The nations must be 
tried in order that they may become ripe for 
their destination. This will also answer the 
second question, for we see that a great multi¬ 
tude of those who in the millennium shall be 
willing subjects of the divine government, and 
even rejoice in it, have failed to be regenerated 
and become a new creature. Since Satan will 
be bound the old sinful nature within them may 
as it were sleep and they may submit to the 


258 


Outline on Prophecy. 


divine reign without having in fact become one 
with it. Man has need of regeneration in the 
millennium as well as in the present dispensa¬ 
tion. If mankind in the millennium on the one 
hand have a great advantage from the fact that 
the devil shall not be there to entice and to stir 
up the old nature, on the other hand the old 
nature is not eradicated, and the way of life 
eternal is none other for them than that of a 
thorough regeneration by the Holy Ghost, the 
sauie conditions which we have in our age. 
Many of those living in the millennium shall 
neglect this and shall remain in their natural 
state. As the Holy Ghost develops the new 
spiritual life and transforms it more and more 
into the divine nature, so is Satan the power to 
transform, more and more, the corrupt nature, 
which he planted by the fall of Adam into the 
likeness of his own depraved self. Since, how¬ 
ever, he had been bound for one thousand 
years, we can conceive how men could live in 
that period without having the sinful nature 
within them developed; but when brought under 
the influence of the wicked one, the principle 
of sin in them will reach the state of ripeness 
within a short time. 

Satan with the host of apostates out of the 
nations shall make Jerusalem his aim, and as 
the hosts of Antichrist had one thousand years 
previously aimed to subdue the city of Jeru- 


Judginent. 


259 


Salem and destroy all divine seed, so Satan 
now makes a similar attempt; his army moves 
against Jerusalem to destroy the city with fire 
and the sword. For the last time he makes 
the attempt to obtain full control of the earth 
on which he has gained a foothold through his 
subtileness toward our first parents. Jerusalem 
shall not be prepared for such an attack: there 
are no w^eapons of war and the city has no 
walls (Zech. 2: 4, 5), but has one thing, namely, 
the w^ord of prophecy—the Lord has promised 
to be a wall of fire about the city and his prom¬ 
ise is sure and steadfast. 

Before the army of Gog and Magog shall be 
able to cause any hurt to Jerusalem, fire shall 
fall from heaven to destroy the enemies, and 
Satan shall be cast into the abyss burning with 
fire and brimstone into which one thousand 
years previously the beast and the false prophet 
had been cast, and then immediately follows 
the final judgment before the divine throne. 

Matt. 13: 47-50; 25: 31-33, as well as many 
other passages of the Bible, nave reference to 
this judgment. If w^e search the Scriptures 
carefully, we find in them a clear revelation of 
what shall take x)lace in the latter days. f 

Certain passages tell us of the second coming 
of Christ for the believers; others, of his coming 
upon the earth with the believers "when he 
shall come in great glory to hold judgment over 


260 Outline on Prophecy. 

Antichrist, The passages at the head of this 
chapter have reference to the great, final judg¬ 
ment, when both wicked and good shall yet be 
found. 

If we consider the plan of God from the time 
of creation to the final end, we find mention of 
seven distinct judgments which God had to 
execute in order to punish and destroy ungodli¬ 
ness. The first judgment took place in Paradise 
after the fall of Adam. Since Adam was the 
representative of creation and sinned against 
his better knowledge, the punishment ex ended 
over all creation. 

The second judgment was the deluge. 
Wickedness abounded in such measure that the 
Lord was compelled to interfere and destroy 
mankind. Here again we have a judgment, 
which with the exception of Noah and his fam¬ 
ily extended over the whole creation. This 
judgment also came only after men had abund¬ 
ant opportunity to accept the truth. Instead 
of that, however, they trampled it under their 
feet. After the flood the judgments are no 
longer universal, but are rather limited to 
nations. The next judgment is that over Sodom 
and Gomorrah. To these people also the light 
was presented by Abraham and Lot and they 
could have turned to God and prevented the 
judgment. The apostle Peter informs us that 
they tormented righteous Lot day and night. 


Judgment. 261 

The I'ourth judgment is that over the Egyp¬ 
tians. To them the Lord had given opportunity 
for two hundred years to become acquainted 
with the truth through his people Israel. At 
last he gave them a final warning through signs 
and miracles, but since they remained hardened 
toward the truth, the Lord had to destroy them. 

The fifth judgment came upon the apostate 
people of the covenant, Israel. Before judging 
this people who had received so much of 
divine revelation, the Lord permitted matters 
to come so far with them that streams of the 
blood of righteous men were shed among them, 
and finally he gave them the incomparable 
testimony of the truth through his Son. Since, 
hoTvever, they rejected even this and called on 
his blood to come upon them and their children, 
there came upon them a judgment more terrible 
than ever before. 

The sixth judgment is that over the apostate 
church which has degenerated into a congrega¬ 
tion of Antichrist. This judgment shall take 
place in Jerusalem. To the Christian church 
the Lord has given a most abundant measure 
of light; therefore, the judgment will also sur¬ 
pass all others in severity. 

The seventh judgment is that of the nations. 
The Lord permits one thousand years of light 
and peace to precede this judgment It comes, 
therefore, very suddenly and the souls shall 


Outlljie on Fropliecij. 


262 

receive the sentence of eternal punishment 
without previous warning. As far as we can 
see, the judgment which follows after that, is 
the final one. Then shall be the resurrection 
of all the dead, many of whom have been in 
their graves for thousands of years, and each 
one shall receive according to the deeds done 
in the body, wdiether they be good or evil. 
Many shall then be placed at the right hand 
who at the beginning of the millennium were 
not ready for the coming of the Lord, but vrho 
were yet saved before their time of grace was 
passed. According to Rev. 7, all nations and 
tongues shall be represented. All such wdio, 
in the measure of the light which they had 
received, surrendered their self-will to live in 
accordance with the will of God, shall yet 
obtain grace. 

We have at the close of our text the solemn 
words that the books of God shall be searched 
and those whose names shall not be found in 
the book of life shall be x)laced at the left hand 
and cast into eternal perdition. To us it is 
disquieting to see so many go their way indif¬ 
ferent, resting on an ungrounded hope and 
build upon their own works instead of being 
regenerated through the Holy Ghost. Millions 
shall go to perdition in despair when they shall 
be made aware that Satan has deceived them 
and that in S(.»ite of their expectation their 


JucMinent. 


ms 


names are not found in the book of life. This 
picture is too dreadful to dwell upon. Let it 
be an incentive to us to warn the souls while it 
is yet called to-day. 



CHAPTER XXII. 


The New Heaven and New Earth. 

{1 Cor. 15: 24-28; Rev. 10: 1-7.) 

24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered 
up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall 
have put down all rule and all authority and power. 

25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies un¬ 
der his feet. 

26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. 

27 For he hath put all things under his feet. But 
when he saith all things are put under him, it is man¬ 
ifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under 
him. 

28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him, 
then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that 
put all things under him, that God may be all in all. 

1 And I saw another mighty angel come down from 
heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon 
his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his 
feet as pillars of fire: 

2 And he had in his hand a little book open: and he 
set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the 
earth, 

3 And cried with a loud voice, as wdien a lion roareth: 



TRitIMPH 


OVER SATAN 































J\l*ew Earth, 265 

and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their 
voices. 

4 And when the seven thunders had uttered their 
voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from 
heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the 
seven thunders uttered, and write them not. 

5 And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and 
upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, 

6 And svvare by him that liveth for ever and ever, who 
created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the 
earth, and the things that therein are, and tt^e sea, and 
the things which are therein, that there should be time 
no longer: 

7 But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, 
when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should 
be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the 
prophets. 

With this chapter we conclude our inquiry 
into the prophetic revelations of the future. 
The above passages of Scripture give us a 
glimpse of the beyond, of consummate eternity. 
Yet, it is here also the case that the Holy Script¬ 
ures reveal to us only a few features of the 
conditions in the beyond. 

Rev. 20, beginning with verse 7, we read of 
the state of things on this earth after the mil¬ 
lennium. This passage, however, gives us only 
a few glimpses concerning this subject without 
a detailed description of the prevailing condh 
tions of the period between the millennium and 
the end of the world. 

From the twenty-first chapter of Revelation 
to the conclusion of the book, we have some 


2S6 Outline on Fivphecy, 

thing of a description of the new heaven and 
the new earth. Outside of these two chapters, 
the Bible gives us only little of the state of eter¬ 
nal bliss. Often the question is raised why it 
is that not more is revealed to us regarding the 
bliss of the eternal state which God has pre¬ 
pared for those that love him. If we, however, 
enquire more closely into this matter, we shall 
find here also the wonderful wisdom of God who 
reveals his mysteries to man only in the meas¬ 
ure as man is able to receive them. 

If we take the Old Testament we find only 
little reference to the fact that it was God’s plan 
ever to give a New Testament in the future. It 
was promised that a Savior should come from 
the seed of Abraham to redeem the world; it is, 
however, in the prophetic Scriptures not prom¬ 
ised that a new part should be added to the Bible. 
In nearly all passages of the Old Testament 
which contain prophecies of a blessed future 
and of which the titles added by the trans¬ 
lators generally state that they refer to the 
Gospel dispensation, it is evident that those 
titles are wrong and that the Holy Ghost gives 
a description of the millennium. Many are be¬ 
ing misled by the superscriptions to the various 
chapters, because they do not consider that 
these are only the ideas of men and are by no 
means a part of the Bible as the Word of God. 
The Old Testament has some types of the Gos- 


Xeiv Earth, 


m 


pel dispensation while types of the millennium 
are frequent. The latter is particularly often 
referred to in the prophetic Scriptures. The 
New Testament gives for the main part the 
fulfillment of the types and a full revelation how 
fallen man may be reinstated into the family of 
God, also a number of prophecies concerning 
the millennium and a glimpse of the beyond. 

We have a threefold reason to believe that 
when the Lord shall come again, he will give 
us a further addition to his Word, The first 
reason why we hold this belief is based on the 
tenth chapter of Revelation where the seven 
thunders uttered their voices. What they said 
has been sealed and no one knows what it is. 
We can not conceive of any reason why they 
should have spoken if there should not be a 
time to come when this is to be revealed. This 
chapter has for its subject the consummation of 
time and the beginning of eternity. The angel 
of God, with a rainbow on his head, is standing 
with one foot on the earth and the other on the 
sea and asserts with an oath that there shall 
henceforth be no time. He takes, as it were, 
the bow out of the clouds which had been set 
there for a token that the world should not be 
destroyed; it is now made known that that cov¬ 
enant is come to its end. Then follow the 
seven thunders. We have, accordingly, reason 
to believe that they spoke of things eternal 


268 Outline on Prophecy, 

which the Lord has deemed necessary as yet to 
seal because men were not yet prepared to re¬ 
ceive these wonderful messages. 

To reveal divine glories and mysteries before 
mankind is prepared to receive them is for weak 
man fraught with dangers, because of his inclin¬ 
ation to lose his way by being absorbed in such 
things and neglect his own salvation. This can 
even nov/ be observed in the case of many whose 
minds are, to a great extent, occupied by the 
millennium and whose spiritual life is, notwith- 
•standing this fact, in a miserable condition. 

Further, we find that the great things of God 
are threefold. Even the Godhead consists of 
three persons, and man created in the image of 
God is a threefold being. The tabernacle which 
was constructed after the model which Moses 
had seen upon the mountain, was threefold. 
Paul was caught up to the third heaven which 
would seem to indicate that the heavens also 
have three divisions. We believe, therefore, 
that the Word of God also, when completed will 
be composed of three parts. We wish to be 
understood right on this subject. As in the 
tabernacle of the Mosaic dispensation—every 
part was complete in itself, so it shall also be 
with the Bible. The Old Testament is in it¬ 
self, its history, types and promises, complete;, 
and this is also true of the New Testament 
which gives us the whole counsel of God 


JS^eiv Earth, 


269 


regarding the redemption of mankind. Should 
we receive another addition to the Word of God, 
it will be, without doubt, a revelation of things 
yet to come, and this brings us to the third 
point. For the very reason that we have only 
little light as to the period after the millennium 
and eternity itself, we believe that the time will 
come when the Lord shall in a third part of his 
Word give a further revelation of the astonish¬ 
ing greatness of his works and of the whole 
magnitude of what was done on Calvary. 

If we compare the Word of God as a whole 
with the tabernacle, the Old Testament corre¬ 
sponds to the first court, the New Testament to 
the Holy Place, and the third part, correspond¬ 
ing to the Holy of Holies, will be given at the 
time of his second coming. But we ought not 
to be occupied too much with these things for 
all the light requisite for the service of God is 
given to us. We have indeed received as much 
as we can make use of. • Yes, we must humbly 
confess that we have failed to make full use of 
that which we have received and that there is 
as yet much ground to be occupied for the full 
reception of the Word of God which has been 
revealed to us. 

The next subject in our study would be the 
new earth. We have, beside the text from the 
Revelation quoted above, a short word concern¬ 
ing the new earth in 2 Pet. 3: 10-13. 


^70 OiitUne on. Prophecy. 

Although this subject is not frequently 
touched upon in the Scriptures, the fact is 
revealed to us that there shall be a new earth. 
Some interpreters conclude from the above pas¬ 
sage that this earth shall be purified by fire and 
then changed and transformed into a new earth. 
They hold that as man shall be transformed 
from an earthly state into a heavenly one by the 
fire of the Spirit of God and is then called a new 
man, so must also the earth pass through a 
process of fiery trial and thus be pu rified from 
all traces which sin and Satan have left on it. 
As evidence for this view, could be mentioned 
the children of Israel purifying by fire all metal 
which they took from the heathen. Others 
take the above passage of Peter literally and 
hold that heaven and earth shall pass away and 
vanish into nothingness and that God shall then 
create another earth as a dwelling place for the 
blessed. 

One thing is evident, the future place of 
abode for the blessed shall be upon the new 
earth. John sees the new Jerusalem coming 
down upon the earth—a tabernacle of God with 
men—and beholds God himself dwelling among 
them. If the place of abode of the saints would 
be in heaven, the new Jerusalem should not 
come upon the earth. Further, it should in 
such case be said that we shall go to God in the 
heavens iistead of himself coming down to 


J\ 'eiv Earth, 


271 


dwell among us. We find in the Holy Script¬ 
ures nothing descriptive of heaven, neither the 
old nor the new; it is, without doubt, the throne 
of our God and a place where he with the holy 
angels reigns in unspeakable glory. We have 
in the Bible a number of statements to indicate 
that those who fell asleep in the Lord shall 
dwell there until the time of the millennium or 
the new earth. 

There is, moreover, nothing definite given as 
to the purpose of the new heaven, but we may 
conclude from the Scriptures that it shall be for 
the future also the throne of the Father and 
dwelling place of tee holy angels, for nothing 
is given us to indicate that the latter should 
dwell upon the earth among men, and although 
it is said of God that he shall dwell amoug them 
in the new Jerusalem, it does not follow that 
his throne shall be upon the earth. The Father 
is a spirit and has not a body as the Son, he 
shall even fill the new heaven. This does not, 
however, imply that he can not assume some 
form. Daniel sees him as the Ancient of days 
to whom the Son of man comes. (Daniel 7.) 
The apostle John sees the sealed book in his 
hand. In accordance with these pictures, we 
have a right to think of the Father as having a 
form, but clothed with majesty which fills all 
heaven and the new earth. 

The difference between the new and the first 


272 Outline on Prophecy. 

earth is not indicated in details, but there is 
enough to show that even between the millen¬ 
nium and the new earth there shall be a great 
distinction. The millennium must therefore 
not be confounded with the new earth. The 
millennium shows us the final triumph of the 
Gospel which shall even in creation cause a 
great change. The new earth, on the other 
hand, indicates to us the full victory of Calvary 
through which all shall be made new and im¬ 
mortal. Of the new earth we read that death 
shall be no more; in the millennium death has 
not yet been fully overcome, and, although the 
age of man shall be a thousand years, yet, sin¬ 
ners of one hundred years shall die. The long 
duration of life is promised rather to those who 
lead a life in accordance with the Word of God. 

In the millennium the sun shall shine seven 
times brighter than now; on the new earth 
there shall be no sun, for God and the Lamb 
shall be the light thereof. It is apparent that 
as long as ttiis earth is not renewed, the sun 
must rule the light of it; after the renewiug has 
taken place, the Lamb shall be the centre of 
eternal light, taking the place of the sun. It is 
evident that the Father himself shall be the 
light. The natural light was in existence at the 
time of the creation before the sun haci been 
created. The purpose of the latter was only to 
rule the light. So it shall also be in the land 


Mew Ewrth. 




of eternal bliss. The Father is the light which 
shines forth through the Son, and in the same 
light the nations shall walk. 

Heb. 1: 3, it is said of Christ that he is up¬ 
holding all things by his divine arm and is the 
brightness of the glory of the Father. In vari¬ 
ous parts of the Scriptures the truth is pre¬ 
sented that all things have been created by him 
and he is the Author and Preserver of all life. 
So it shall also be in the eternity of eternities. 

On the new earth the sea shall be no more 
and in its place there shall be a stream of the 
water of life on whose banks shall stand the 
trees of life which shall yield their fruit every 
month. In the millennium, however, the sea 
shall be as during the previous ages. It is fur¬ 
ther stated that on the new earth there shall be 
neither princes nor governments; in the millen¬ 
nium they shall yet be found, both among the 
Jews and the nations. It appears that in eter¬ 
nal bliss different nationalities shall continue to 
exist; all, however, under the direct leadership 
of God, without princes or governments. Con¬ 
cerning the state of things on the new earth, 
we are told that righteousness and peace shall 
reign. 

If we would further inquire into the condi¬ 
tions of things, on the new earth, whether na¬ 
tions should yet multiply as they were bidden 
in Paradise, or whether the Word of the Lord 


0 }>'‘ /, 

^ t ^ 


Oiitlijie on Vropliccij. 


should llud application here, that they shall be 
as the angels of God and neither marry nor be 
given in marriage, we can not go beyond con- 
jecta es, and will ]*5itlier wait patiently until the 
Lord shall reveal it to us. 

In 1 Cor. 15: 24, 25, the last thought on our 
subject is presented. We see there that the 
eternal kingdom is restored and delivered up to 
the Father. The millennium is the kingdom of 
the Son, the eternal kingdom is the kingdom of 
the Father. The Father commits to the Son 
the millennium, i. e., the triumph and full vic¬ 
tory of what he has accomplished on Calvary, 
that all the world may acknowledge the great¬ 
ness of the victory won on the cross. Then is 
fulfilled what we read in Eph. 1: 19-23, that the 
Lord Jesus triumphs over all creatures in 
heaven and earth and under the earth. After 
the millennium the Son shall deliver u|) to the 
Father ev^erythiug which he has gained through 
his sacrificial death. Paul says that the Son 
shall in his greatness subordinate himself to him 
of his own free-will, as he has subordinated 
nimself when he was upon the earth, that the 
Father may be all in all for all eternity. From 
these words we conclude that the Father shall 
retain the government over the whole universe. 
We shall be in the Son the crown of his great¬ 
est glory; he, as the head, shall be led by the 
Father himself,and,we as the members, through 


New Earth. 


275 


him, for vTo, are one in him as he is with the 
Father. In heaven there shall be ouly one 
family, as the redeemed are reinstated into the 
family of God, and as they are the body of 
Christ belonging to the divine Trinit 3 ^. In this 
family there shall in all eternity not come a 
discord, neither an error, even if presented in 
different bodies; all are in reality one. Vte are 
longing for these eternal mansions of on l* God. 

Our prayer is that this small work ina^^ be 
instrumental in making souls willing to become 
loose from all things earthly, and be prepared 
for the eternal home. May God in his grace 
grant it. Amen. 




1000 


TA 1 TH 




The above chart gives an outline from creation to the new earth It is divid 'd into four principal pa.’ts The division from above to the line woe 'e the numbers are 
found, represents the part wLich we call heaven. 

The next division shows the people which were chosen by God to be messengers of salvation and who through faith are in connection with him. 

The third division extends to the bne above the grave and represents the nations which have separated themselves from God to walk in their own ways. 

The undermost division represents the grave, the abyss, and hell. I'or an exp'anation of the chart, see the latter part of the book. 








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Explanation of the Chart. 


The chart was drawn in order to make the 
plan of God somewhat clearer for those who 
have not the opportunity for a more detailed 
systematic study of the Scriptures. It presents 
a short survey from the creation of the world 
to the new earth and is divided into four prin¬ 
cipal parts. The first division extends from 
the top to the first line, along which figures are 
found, and indicates the part which we call 
heaven. The second division extends from the 
line beneath the figures to the line on which 
the genealogical tree of Noah rests; by the 
&ame are indicated the nations which God has 
chosen as the messengers of salv dion. The 
third division, between the second and third 
lines, in w^hich we find the tower of Babel, indi¬ 
cates the nations which walk in their own 
ways. The fourth division show’s us the grave, 
abyss Ccud hell. 

These four principal divisons are again 


21S 


Outline on Fropkecy. 


divMed into different parts, which are num¬ 
bered, in order to avoid misunderstandings in 
the explanations. 

1. Is to represent the Trinity, and man, con¬ 
sisting of spirit, soul and body. The sun repre¬ 
sents the Father, the cross, the Son, while the 
Holy Ghost (in the midst of man) is represented 
by the picture of a dove. The symbol of the 
sun was chosen for the Father because he is the 
origin of all light, and one is not disposed to 
represent him by the figure of a man. The 
cross stands for the Son, since the plan of God 
in regard to the redemption through the Son 
on Calvary was laid previous to creation (1 Pet. 
1: 18-20). The Holy Spirit is represented with¬ 
in man because it was included in the plan of 
God, before the foundation of the world that 
man should be sanctified wholly, and the Most 
High himself would through his Spirit dwell in 
man (Eph. 1: 4). 

In the circle which represents'man, we notice 
the ark of the Old Covenant. The Most Holy 
place represents the spirit of man, the Holy 
Place, the soul, and the court the body. By 
this we are reminded that man is called the 
temple of God (1 Cor. 3: 16). 

This is the plan of God which during the 
seven thousand years shall be accomplished 
and consummated on the new earth. 

2. The earth in its chaotic condition, to which 


The Chaii. 279 

the Lord begins to give light and begins to 
prepare it for the dwelling place of man. 

3. The earth as it appeared after the sixth 
day of creation. The picture represents the 
creation of the woman from the side of Adam, 
which is also a type of the bride of Christ. 
Compare chapter 16. Further 'we see the two 
trees, the tree of life (Jesus), and the tree of 
knowledge of good and evil (Antichrist). Com¬ 
pare chapter 9. 

4. Here we see (1) an eye and an arroiv point¬ 
ing in the direction of Calvary—a picture of 
the first promise of salvation after the fall, in 
which the Redeemer was promised to Eve and 
she accepted the promise. (2) The first sacri¬ 
fices of Cain and Abel. The ascending smoke 
of Abel’s sacrifice indicates that it is well pleas¬ 
ing to God; the smoke of the sacrifice of Cain, 
which descends toward the ground, indicates 
the condition of his heart. The line beneath 
the sacrifice represents Seth and his descend¬ 
ants as the messengers of the salvation of the 
Lord. 

The first line extending downward stands for 
Cain and his descendants, the children of this 
world. Every line extending downward indi¬ 
cates in general toe departing from God. The 
lines uniting the first and second lines show 
how the sons of God have intermingled with 
the daughters of the world. The arrow ascend- 


^80 Outline on Frophecy- 

mg points to the rapture of Enoch, the seventh 
one from Adam, who vralked with God for three 
hundred years. The short arrow pointing 
toward the ark represents Noah who was saved 
by the same. 

Enoch is a type of the believers who are 
taken away before the judgment, and Noah is 
a type of the church which is rescued during 
the judgment. 

4. The first period of the human family, 
extending from Paradise to the flood, comprises 
1655 years. 

5. A complement to No. 4, shows the hard 
labor after the fall, as man has to labor for his 
bread in the sweat of his face. 

6. The ark a type of Christ in whom the 
believers shall be found perfect in the judg¬ 
ment, and shall be translated into a new world. 

7. The flood which brings judgment and 
destruction upon the wicked. 

8. Noah as the second progenitor of the 
world after the flood; the different branches of 
the tree, his descendants. The first three 
branches are Shem, Ham and Japheth. By the 
branches all extending downward is indicated 
that men have again separated themselves 
from God. The branch which is extending hor¬ 
izontally in a long line, shows the choosing of 
Abraham out of the tribe of Shem, which took 
place 427 years after the flood. Further, we 


The Chart. 


281 


see here Abraham as he is about to offer up his 
son. Above we have the bow of the covenant, 
which the Lord gave Noah who brought his 
sacrifice, as a sign that he would not again 
destroy the world. 

9. The tower of Babel—a third type of Anti¬ 
christ. Nimrod was the leader of that under¬ 
taking. We see how far wickedness had again 
abounded. 

10. The heavenly period extending from the 
flood to the birth of Christ. In the Old Testa¬ 
ment we read much of angelic appearances. 
According to Heb. 1, mankind have received the 
law through angels. Since in Old Testament 
times angels so often appeared to men, we see 
here the picture of angels. 

11. The time from the calling of Abraham 
to Jacob’s emigration to Egypt, a period of 
215 years. The picture represents Jacob’s 
dream of the heavenly ladder, which he had at 
the time of his flight from Esau. Jacob is a 
type of the church, Isaac a type of Christ, 
Since Isaac was offered (in intention), Jacob, 
i. e., the church, has an open heaven, and the 
angels can with joy communicate their messages 
to men. 

12. Egypt, indicated by the Pyramids and 
the Sphinx. The founders of Egypt were 
descendants of Ham. Egypt is one of the 
oldest countries known to us, and comes more 


282 Outline on Prophecy, 

than others in contact with the people of God. 
The picture gives the line representing Abra¬ 
ham, extending into the division of Egypt; it 
indicates the time that Israel spent in Egypt. 

13. The high priest with the sacrificial an¬ 
imal and beneath him the camp of Israel with 
the sanctuary. Israel dwelled in Egypt for 
215 years (Gal. 3: 17). The arrow on the line 
where it begins to go upward again, indicates 
the death of Moses. He could not, on account 
of disobedience, enter into the promised land. 
We have two reasons, found in the Bible, from 
which we may conclude that Moses was resur¬ 
rected soon after his death; (1) He appeared 
at the transfiguration of Jesus; (2) Satan con¬ 
tended with Michael for the body of Moses 
(Jude 9.) 

14. The time of Israel from the journeyings 
in the wilderness to the Babylonian captivity, 
881 years. The principal picture represents 
the temple, as the most important object among 
Israel. The same was built under Solomon 
and was in existence to the time of the Babylo¬ 
nian captivity. A line divides the picture in 
halves, which indicates the division of the 
people under Jeroboam and Rehoboam. 

The short lines beneath this line represent 
the prophets at the time when they proph¬ 
esied. The third arrow pointing upward is 
Elijah, as a witness in the second period of 


The Chart. 


^£83 


mankind that the believers shall be translated. 

15. The Assyrian kiogxlom. In the picture 
we see an Assyrian temple of idols. From the 
above division one of the two lines extends 
downward into this kingdom; this is the king¬ 
dom of Israel which w^as led into the Assyrian 
captivity, 721 B. C. 

16. The man whom Nebuchadnezzar .saw in 
his dream. 

17. The four living creatures which Daniel 
saw, and which mean the same as the previous 
one. In Dan. 2, the king sees the future typified 
by a man with a golden head, a breast of silver, 
thighs and legs of brass, and feet of iron and 
clay. From this it is apparent that the nations 
will sink down farther instead of rising. Dan¬ 
iel sees, chapter 7, the same period of time rep¬ 
resented by four wild animals instead of a man. 
This shows u.s how God looks upon the leading 
governments, since his covenant people are no 
longer at the head of the nations. The four 
great world powers which execute the principal 
part of the government, until Jesus shall estab¬ 
lish his government, are in his eyes as ravenous 
beasts. See chapter 10. On this picture we have 
further the beast with the ten horns, wdiich 
ascends out of the sea—a type of Antichrist 
(Rev. 13: 1). On this beast sits the harlot—a 
picture of apostate Christianity (Rev. 17). 

Above this we see the beast with the two 


28Jf Outline on Prophecy, 

horns. The horns represent apostate Christen¬ 
dom and Mohammedanism. This picture is 
only a complement to the picture of the harlot 
which will together with Antichrist reign in 
the last time. See chapter 11. Beside the 
beast with the ten horns, the binding of Satan 
is represented (Rev. 20). On the left side of 
the picture in the upper corner we see the 
second of the two lines extending downward 
into the second division and into the Babylonian 
kingdom. This represents the captivity of 
Judah under Nebuchadnezzar. Further, we see 
here also the four feet. The two feet in the 
left corner belov’ have together twenty-three 
toes—the old Roman empire in its present con¬ 
dition, which is divided into that number of 
divisions, the western part into sixteen, the 
eastern into seven parts. The two upper feet 
have each five toes, indicating as Daniel pre¬ 
dicted that the kingdom shall again be divided 
into ten divisions, which is also indicated by 
the ten horns. This shall be brought about 
under Antichrist’s reign, and the ten kings 
shall be allies of Antichrist. 

18. Shows the time when Israel returned 
from the captivity and rebuilt the temple. 
Therefore, the picture shows the plan of the 
temple. The same was the second one, and 
was built under Zerubbabel. From the first 
captivity of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar to the 


The Chart. 


285 


birth ol Christ, we have a period of 604 years. 

19. The period from the birth of Christ to 
his second coming. In the middle of the pic¬ 
ture is a spring of water (Christ), on the one 
side is an open Bible, on the other side a dove, 
the symbol of the Holy Spirit. This is to rep¬ 
resent to us the Gospel period in its fullness. 
The steps which lead to the spring indicate 
how we come to this fullness. Above we see 
the seven candlesticks, Kev. 1, as symbols of 
the churches from the apostolic age to the 
second coming of Christ. At the cross we have 
an arrow which ascends straight upward to the 
thrones, bearing the letters S and F. This 
shows how Jesus, after his resurrection, occu¬ 
pied his place at the side of the Father. S 
stands for Son, F for Father. 

A second arrow goes from the cross toward 
the picture No. 21 which represents the second 
coming of Christ. This shows the hope of the 
apostolic church for the return of Christ. See 
chapter 15. Here we also have an arrow which 
comes from No. 25. In No. 19 and 20, two other 
arrows meet with it, and this is to represent the 
rapture of the believers (2 Thess. 4: 14-18). 

20. This belongs to No. 19 and shows more 
minutely the close of this time. On the pic¬ 
ture is represented a guillotine, a symbol of 
the fact that the believers will once more be 
persecuted at the last time. See chapter 10. 


2S6 Oaf line on Prophecy, 

21. The Son of God is returniug to the 
earth, and we see him in the clouds with his 
own who meet him there. The picture is to 
show further ho\\^ he shall, at his coming, 
give crowns to the believ^ers. See chapter 12. 
The arrow from S, pointing to the middle of 
the picture,indicates that he leaves his place in 
heaven to meet his own in the cloud. 

22. The millennium. The peaceable nature 
of the animals. The arrow from above shows 
how Jesus comes to the earth to destroy Anti¬ 
christ, and to give the kingdom to his people. 
See chapter 21. 

23. A complement to No. 22, showing the 
rebuilding of the temple according to Ezek. 
40-45. In the upper part to the left, we see 
the two lines which we found in No. 14 and 
which end in No. 22. This shows us the resto¬ 
ration of Israel, and that of both houses, since 
both lines meet together. See chapter 8. 

24. The short period between the millennium 
and the final judgment. It represents the 
nations, how Satan again, having been loosed 
from the abyss, shall have a multitude of fol¬ 
lowers; how they shall rise against the people 
of the Lord, and will with an army march 
against Jerusalem, but shall be destroyed with 
fire and brimstone by the Lord (Zech. 2: 4, 5; 
Rev. 20: 8). See chapter 22. 


The Ckwrf. 287 

25. The fourtli principal division oi the 
chart, showing the graves of the nations. 

26. A complement to No. 25, showing more 
fully the graves of those who have no pni-t in 
the first resurrection. We see the dead coming 
out of their graves, and how the sea delivers up 
its dead. 

27. The Son of God at the final judgment 
when all nations shall be gathered before him 
and the division to the right and left shall take 
place. The arrows of No. 25 and 26 stop here 
to show that all nations shall be gathered 
before him. See chapter 22. 

28. The abyss in which the devil sliall be 
cast for a thousand years. 

29. Hell, or the lake which burns witli fire 
and brimstone. The arrow which comes from 
No. 27, and stops here, shows what way those 
w"ho have been put to the left side have to take, 

30. The new earth and the ncw^ Jerusalem 
wdiich John beheld (Rev. 21 and 22). 





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Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. 
Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 
Treatment Date: August 2005 

PreservationTechnologies 

A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATION 
111 Thomson Park Dnve 
Cranberry Township, PA 16066 
(724)779-2111 






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